It Will Be Great
by Holly O
Summary: Kelly is new in Odessa Texas, after moving with her family from New York City. She wants to go back to where she came from...but with something - or someone make her stay?
1. New York City REVISED

Chapter 1

New York City

May 13th, 1988

"Texas?" I asked in disbelief; "We're moving to Texas?" I stood in our cramped kitchen leaning against the counter. My mother poured herself a cup of coffee calmly while my brother and I took in the new information, freaking out on the inside.

"Where in Texas mom?" my twin brother, Kevin asked excitedly.

"No! Kevin you can't be happy about this!"

"We're moving to Odessa, Texas" she answered calmly then took a sip of her coffee; "It will be great"

"When do we leave?" Kevin asked; "We have to make sure we're there in time for football try outs. They have to let me on the team because I play up here right?"

"I don't think it's that easy" I replied under my breath.

"The lease here runs out July first" my mom replied looking at the calendar.

"Great. Not only are we moving to the middle of nowhere but we're moving south in the middle of summer!" I said and walked into the equally cramped living room and slouched on the couch; "How could you do this to us right before senior year?" I yelled over my shoulder into the kitchen.

"I don't have a choice. Come on, it won't be that bad" my mom said walking out of the kitchen with Kevin behind her.

"Yeah, I'll get on the football team and you can cheerlead" Kevin teased.

"Fuck that"

"Kelly. Don't swear"

"Sorry mom. It's just that people from New York City don't just pick up and move to Texas!"

"Mom is from Texas, you know that" Kevin said shaking his head.

"She hasn't lived in Texas since she was three that doesn't count"

"If you two can't respect the decision that I made than you can be grounded the whole summer and study for your SAT's"

"That's not fair!" Kevin yelled; "She's the one who's mad, she's just trying to tell you how much she hates the idea!"

"He's right. I do hate the idea" I replied with a condescending smile on my face

"Whatever" Kevin said shaking his head; "I'm going out, I'll be back" he grabbed his house keys off the wall then walked out of the apartment slamming the door behind him.

My mother sat down next to me on the couch; "Why don't you want to move?" she asked, acting like she really didn't know the answer.

"I was born and raised here. My friends are here, our family is here -"

"Our family isn't here, just…just your father's"

"So that's why you want to move? To get away from dad's family?"

"No, I just want to be closer to mine. You kids are going to graduate soon and move out on your own and I want to be closer to home when that happens"

"Then why don't we move after we graduate? It's only one more year"

"I told you, the lease runs out, besides I already found a house. It's close to Aunt Jackie"

I glared at my mother, she had sparked my interest; "So I'll be able to hang out with Nicole? Does she go to same school as me?"

"Yes! Permian High School! She can't wait to see you!"

"Well that's the one and only plus to this move. I guess" Nicole is my cousin, she's the same age as me but I have only met her once in my life. Last year when my dad died they came up to help us when we moved into this apartment. Before her trip to The Big Apple, she'd never been out of Texas - even though it was all she ever talked about. She's just like me, loves the fast pace of the city, loves meeting new people, going on adventures, and having life changing experiences. Nicole and I are really close now and talk on the phone constantly, she talks about New York City all the time and how she wants to come back here one day; "I just think your being really selfish mom"

"I'm sorry Kelly" she said looking at the ground; "I just thought this was the best choice for us, financially"

"Well the last time I checked Odessa Texas wasn't exactly thriving financially either"

"I got a good deal on the house"

"How?"

"It's your aunt's house from her first marriage that she has been renting out the past seven years. The couple that was renting it moved to Dallas so I said I'd take it off her hands"

"Just like that?" my mom nodded her head; "It's really that easy to just take a house off someone's hands? Do we have money for this?"

"Well it will be tight for a while once we first get down ther but, we'll survive"

"Yeah, if I don't get bit by a rattlesnake first and die with antivenom" I said sarcastically, remembering all the stories I would hear from Nicole about guys in her classes bragging about rattlesnake hunting in school on Monday mornings; "I can't believe this" The tension was so thick in the room you could cut it with a knife and minutes of awkward silence passed; "Just so you know the day I turn eighteen I'll be back up here, I still want to go to college in the city" I said getting up off the couch.

"I know that"

"Just tell me one thing mom, you didn't do this just because of Kevin right"

"What do you mean?"

"Kevin is captain of the football team and he's going to be in heaven if he gets on the team. I don't know what the world will come to if he doesn't though"

"He'll make it" she said, sounding as if she could see into the future and knew without a doubt Kevin would make it. I don't think she know how hard and competitive high school football was in Texas; "We just need to find something for you to do down there"

"Oh I'll be fine! Nicole tells me kids drink freely all the time down there! Trust me, I'll be alright"

"Kelly!"

"Sorry mom" My mother has been letting me drink since I was fourteen. I'm not an alcoholic by any means but letting me drink champagne on the holidays and a case of beer in the safety of my own house at parties was normal and fine in the eyes of my mother - she just didn't like when I talked or bragged about it; "I'm gonna go out and break the news to my friends then"

"Okay" she said looking at the clock; "Be back by midnight please"

"I'll try" I said grabbing my black messenger back and NYU hooded sweatshirt before heading for the door; "Don't wait up"

"I love you Kelly"

I opened the front door then turned around and looked back at my mother; "I love you too mom. Listen, I'm okay with the idea of going to Texas, really I am. I'm just not excited to go to high school there"

* * *

When my father died last September we had to move from our upper east side Manhattan apartment to a basement two bedroom apartment in Queens. It was a big adjustment going from everyone having their own room and their own space to Kevin sleeping in the living room and not having enough room for a dining room table. We have money to get by, but my mother inherited my fathers' debt when he died, credit card and car payments on top of rent puts a damper on any "extras" we want. Life is good, we get along great and love each other very much but everyone needs an escape once in a while.

I walked a few blocks to my friend Riana's apartment building. She lives with her father on the seventh floor and I love going to her apartment, mainly because it was above ground. I made my way inside the building when someone let me in on their way out; "Who is it?" her father asked after I knocked.

"It's Kelly"

He opened the door and smiled warmly; "Kelly how are you? Come in"

"Thanks Mr. Mathews" I said walking in; "Is Riana home?"

"Yes, she's on the phone I believe"

I nodded; "Is she allowed to go out tonight?"

"That's fine. I have a lot of work I had to bring home from the office tonight, I won't miss her a bit" he said with a chuckle; "Well maybe a little..."

"I understand. We shouldn't be out long, probably just grab a bite to eat"

"Are you alright? You look a little down"

"Well my mom just told me we're moving"

"Moving? Really? Anywhere close?"

"We're moving to Texas"

"Texas? Why in the world would you want to move to Texas?"

"Well, I don't. She does" I explained; "My mother was born there and she wants to go back before Kevin and I graduate high school"

"I see"

"Hey Kelly!" Riana said coming out of her bedroom a few moments later.

"Hey Riana!" I said smiling at her; "You wanna go get some food?"

"Is it alright Dad?" she asked looking at her father. Since it was just the two of them she was a major daddy's girl and rarely got into trouble. How she became such a good friend of mine I'll never know.

"It's fine honey" he said handing her a couple dollars; "Have a good time"

Riana changed clothes quickly and grabbed a jacket, then we left her building; "The crew is meeting us at Romo's pizza place. I stopped at the pay phone on the corner and called Bobby before I came to your place, told him to get everyone together"

"Sounds good" she said putting her sweater on over her tank top.

"So…guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm moving"

"Moving? Back to Manhattan?"

"Texas"

"Texas? Texas the state?"

I laughed; "Yeah Texas the state"

"Why?"

"My mother wants to be closer to her family since my dad died"

"She can't wait until we graduate?"

"That's what I said, but the lease runs out July first"

"That's horrible" she said with a pained look on her face. I've known Riana since eight grade and we've hung out literally every weekend since then. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Don't worry about it" I said putting my arm around her; "I'll buy you a drink and you'll forget about it"

"That's your solution to everything, ever since you got that fake I.D."

I glared at her; "You love it, be quiet"

When we got to Romo's our group of friends were waiting for us outside. "What up Kelly" Bobby said giving me a hug. I met each of my friends through school over the years and we all come from the same kind of family, one where we've lost a parent from either death or divorce. We're all trouble makers and rebellious (except Riana) and we all love to have fun.

"Nothing much kid" I said hugging Bobby; "You guys wanna pick up a pie and split it at the park?" We ordered a pepperoni pizza pie to go and carried it a few blocks to a park. We sat at a picnic table and started to eat; "So guys" I said taking a bite; "I got something to tell you"

"Your pregnant?" My friend Lisa asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"Your gay?" My other friend Greg suggested.

"No, and no" I answered; "Worse"

All my friends looked at each other; "Dead?" Bobby asked laughing.

"Well I might as well be. I'm moving"

"That's not so bad" Lisa said; "What school are you going to?"

"Permian High School"

"Is that in Manhattan?" My friend Zac asked taking a sip of soda.

"I think it's in The Bronx" My other friend Scott added.

"It's in Texas" Riana answered for me. Everyone stopped eating and stared at me.

"Texas?" Greg asked, breaking the silence; "Seriously?"

I nodded my head; "I'm leaving next month"

"Why?" Lisa asked; "Is your mom on drugs?"

"She might as well be! She wants to be closer to her family, and our lease runs out"

"You can move into my house" Zac suggested with a smile; "My parents won't care"

I laughed; "I have to go with tehm"

"Aren't all the football players idolized like they are Gods down there?" Greg asked.

"Yep" I said rolling my eyes; "My cousin told me that they spend more money on football equipment then school supplies for their english classes"

"And how much did Nicole say they spent on the stadium down there?" Riana asked, remembering the conversations the three of us used to have about the difference between New York and Texas.

"Like six million"

"Six million?" Greg asked in shock; "For a stadium?"

"Yep, seats like twenty thousand, it's two stories tall and even has a press box"

"That's dumb. It's just a sport" Lisa said taking another bite of pizza

"Tell me about it" I agreed; "I still think she's doing it just for Kevin and his rich NFL dreams"

Riana laughed; "Are you going to come back after graduation?"

"Defiantly. Nothing is stopping me from NYU"

"Well, there's only one thing we can do" Zac said holding up his cup; "To summer! We're gonna have a good one!" he said smiling.

A kick ass summer is defiantly what my friends and I had together. We stayed up late, snuck out of our houses, went to concerts, scared tourist, and spent many a late night having deep, insightful conversations over a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Zac and I, who have known each other since we were toddlers, had a fling later that summer. We've always been close in "that way" and we've fooled around with each other since we were teenagers but the night before I moved to Texas we lost out virginities to each other.

The next morning he woke up at four a.m. and walked five blocks to see me off; "I'm gonna miss you Kelly" he said as we stood on the sidewalk in front of our apartment building.

"I'm gonna miss you too" I said holding him tighter.

"You know I love you"

"Forever Zac, forever" I took a step back and looked at him; "I'm really trying not to cry" I said letting out a laugh.

"It's okay to cry"

My mother and Kevin walked past us and got into the U-Haul; "Kelly, we have to get a move on if we want to beat the traffic" my mother said out the driver side window.

I nodded my head and looked back over at Zac. He looked like a lost puppy. We've been side by side for so many years and have shared so many experiences together. I helped him through his parents divorce and he was in the hospital with me the night my father died; "I guess I'll...see you later"

"Okay" he said giving me one last hug.

"I'll write" I whispered, not wanting to let go of him.

He squeezed me into a tighter hug; "I'll write back"


	2. Welcome To Odessa REVISED

Chapter 2

Welcome To Odessa

July 3rd, 1988

My mother, brother and I have been driving towards Odessa Texas for the past two and a half days. My mother wanted to make sure we had plenty of time ahead of us so we got there safely. It was fourth of July weekend and firework stands popped up all over the highway, as well as cops and a few drunk drivers out celebrating America's birthday a day early. We stopped to see a few sights along the way, but most of the time the only sights we saw were old abandoned hotels and truck stops.

"How much farther mom?" I asked as we drove out of the city of Abilene.

"Umm probably about three more house" she answered looking at her watch.

"It's already been seven hours" I said rolling my eyes; "It feels like we've been driving through Texas for a week"

"And it feels like it's going to take another week to get out" Kevin added.

"Come on guys, it's not that bad. Take in the scenery"

I leaned my head against the headrest and looked out the window. It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky and it was well over one hundred degrees out. It even looked hot out, it looked like if I step outside and put my feet on the ground I would melt. Abilene is known as the belt buckle of the West Texas Bible Belt. I could see a church steeple in the distant and wondered how the local Odessans would react to our non religious beliefs.

* * *

After close to four hours we started to see signs informing us that Odessa was less than twenty miles away; "Shouldn't be long now" my mom said pulling a piece of paper out of her purse; "This our adress. We're living on Turner Street" she read.

"Cute" I said taking the paper from her; "So has aunt Jackie told you anything about Odessa?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, filled you in on what the town is like. Do you have any idea what we're walking into?"

My mom glared at me; "Kelly your overeactng. It's just Texas. I spent the first three years of my life here and loved it"

"How do you know you loved it? I don't remember my first three years in New York City"

"Just...look for our exit"

"Yes ma'am" I said sarcastically, already picking up the southern respect of 'ma'am' and 'sir'. Nicole and I had been talking a lot about Odessa, she wanted to fill me in so it wasn't such a culture shock once we got there. She told me about the heat, the fenced in abandoned oil rigs, abandoned hotels, and almost vacant main street. She let me know that there's a 7-11 on every corner, fast food joints on every street, and for sale signs in almost every front yard.

Coming from New York City one thing she was worried about my reaction to was the segregation. She told me that Southside of town was where most of the minorities lived, the blacks and the Mexicans. There are a set of railroad tracks that run through town that at one time literally separated the blacks from the whites, but now symbolically do the same, most of the blacks to poor to live above them. In this racially separated town the 'N' word is used freely, both in a negative and casual way. The school system was segregated way back when and since going bi-racial many people in town think the reputation of the famed football team went downhill. Once you cross those railroad tracks and head for Permian high school on the north-east side of town you were on what they called the "fancy side" or the "white side". That was where we would be living, only a few streets away from Nicole.

"Look!" I said pointing at the bumper of the car in front of us; "MoJo. Do you know what that means?" I quizzed my mother.

"No" she said shaking her head and continued to drive.

"Kevin do you know?" He shook his head 'no'; "It's the Permian Panthers monicker, it's chanted at the games"

"Oh yea?" my mom asked, half interested; "Where did they get that from?"

"Nicole said it's from the title of a Wilson Pickett song but there was also this one time when some drunk alumni yelled it for no reason at a game and it stuck with the team. We're going to see it and hear it a lot. That and "goin to state in eighty eight"" I chanted with fake enthusiasm.

"Can we not talk about the Panthers?" Kevin asked glaring at me.

I turned to Kevin who was sitting in between my mother and I in the U-haul and looked at the black cast around his arm; "Sorry Kevin". He broke his arm a few weeks ago when he fell down a staircase in our apartment building, the cast won't be off his arm until the end of the season.

"It's okay" my mom said cheerfully; "We're going to keep him plenty busy around the house"

Kevin rolled his eyes; "Is it too late to study for my SAT's all summer instead?"

"Look! This is our exit!" my mom yelled a few minutes later and finally turned off the highway, we were so excited we started to clap and yell; "Turner street. Look for Turner Street"

Once we were off the highway we were automatically in a neighborhood where houses lined either side of the street. They were of moderate size, mostly drab colors, with a garage attached; "What's with these signs?" I asked looking at the big black and white wooden signs that sat in a few front yards.

"It means a football player lives there. It's their name, number, and position" Kevin replied; "But....let's not talk about football"

I nodded and kept looking out the window; "This is gonna be fun" I said under my breath.

"There it is mom!" Kevin said; "Turner street"

"Eyes like a hawk huh Kevin?" my mom said turning on her blinker; "Aunt Jackie is meeting us outside"

"Nicole too?" I asked

"Yes and Uncle Dan"

"Is it alright if Nicole and I go out tonight?"

"We just got here!"

"Well I need to pick up...stuff"

"What kind of stuff?" Kevin asked glaring at me; "We all need stuff"

"You know, shampoo, deodorant. Stuff"

"I guess" my mother replied; "Now come on, look for the house. Kelly what's the number?"

"3328" I read off the slip of paper.

We drove for a few more minutes down our street then finally saw Jackie, Dan, and Nicole standing in the bed of their pick up truck in our driveway waving at us enthusiastically; "Wow. Damn southerners" I said laughing.

* * *

Kevin, my mother, and I got out of our U-Haul and greeted our family; "I can't believe your here!" Nicole squealed giving me a big hug.

"Yeah at least I have you to hang out with"

"We're going to have fun"

"It's no so bad here" Jackie said laughing with her thick southern accent.

"You'll get used to it" Dan added.

"Give her some time" my mom said smiling at me; "She just misses her friends that's all"

"I also miss subways, taxi's, and hot-dog stands"

"Yankee" Dan said shaking his head; "They don't take to kindly to Yankee's in these parts"

"Don't listen to him, we'll be fine" my mother said laughing.

"Come on, I want to show you around" Nicole said tugging on my arm; "Is that okay Aunt Vicki?"

"It's fine" my mom replied; "Where do you want us to put your stuff?" she asked me.

"I'll take that basement bedroom" I said said fanning myself with my hand; "Kevin do you mind?"

"I don't care where you sleep"

"Alright, let me just get some stuff out of the U-Haul" I said to Nicole then ran back to the truck to grab my messenger bag and sunglasses.

"Make sure you show her the stadium" Jackie told Nicole when I walked back over to them.

"Yeah and hey while we're at it, why don't you introduce me to all the stuck up football players too?" I suggested with a fake smile.

"Hey!" Kevin shouted; "I take offense to that!"

"No it's cool, she'll say that until she meets them. They are really nice trust me" Nicole nodded; "I know a lot of them because Walter played varsity last year" Walter was Nicole's boyfriend since Sophomore year who graduated last year. After he went away to college in Tennessee he broke up with her; "I could introduce you to a few of them later"

"Only the cute ones okay?"

"Okay" she said smiling; "Come on, let's go get my truck"

* * *

Nicole and I walked the five blocks from our new house to her parents house to pick up her truck; "I"ll show you around our house later" she said opening the drivers side door.

"Yeah we should hurry up and look at this raging town" I said getting in the truck; "How long is this going to take?"

"Depends. What do you want to see?"

"Give me the grand tour"

Nicole shook her head; "Just buckle up please" I put on my seatbelt and we pulled away from her house and headed into town; "We passed first street, but this is Second Street" she said turned down a street that looked like all the rest; "Nothing here but junkyards, motels and that auto supply store"

I looked at the parking lot of the auto supply store and saw one beat up pick up truck; "Wow they do a lot of business there"

"Oh that's the owners truck" She continued to show me third through tenth street which were mostly residential but she she showed me the whorehouse on seventh acting like it was a national historic landmark in the town of Odessa. The ten numbered streets poured into Main Street. A dirty, grimy, street lined with buildings, most of them closed; "This is Main Street"

"Where is everyone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well shouldn't the Main Street be hopping? You know the post office, movie theater"

"Nope. This is it" she drove to the end of Main Street and I only saw about three people the whole time. Each one of them were just walking casually down the street. They weren't in a hurry to get anywhere, and it actually annoyed me at how slow they were walking; "You know Kelly you should change your attitude" she said with a laugh while we waited at a stop light; "Odessa isn't really that bad"

"It looks depressing"

"It can be a depressing town, yes" she agreed and turned onto Andrews Highway; "With the oil industry rising and falling people have no money so people don't do anything. Houses don't get sold, businesses close, there's no jobs" I nodded my head, not sure of what to say; "Did you know Odessa had the highest murder rate in 1982?" I shook my head 'no'; "We were ranked the number five worst city to live in the country out of three hundred in Money Magazine"

"Wow, and people think New York City is the worst city in the world"

"Odessa has that one thing that keeps people alive though"

"What's that?"

"Football" she stated smiling; "The Permian Panthers. The boys in black"

"Oh geez, here we go" I said rolling my eyes.

"You should give these guys more credit"

"Look, I understand they get out and play football in Texas and I know that's probably hard-"

"Probably hard?" she interrupted me and got defensive; "You have no idea-"

"Listen, all I'm saying is I don't like how football players get treated off the field"

"What do you mean? They get treated the same"

"No they don't. They get special treatment. They get all the girls, all the glory, party, drink, do whatever they want and the don't have to worry about the consequences because they rush one hundred yards and lead the town to a championship"

"You better not talk like that anywhere near the school or the stadium...you know what just don't ever say anything like that ever again"

"I'm sorry Nicole I just don't like it. Maybe because it's I'm a...Yankee!"

Nicole laughed; "Yeah maybe" She drove for a few miles then turned into a parking lot in front of the Permian High School; "Here it is" She drove around the building pointing to windows and telling me what kind of classroom it was, math, history, english - she knew them all. She drove around to the back of school; "That's the field house" she said pointing to a little building that looked like a shed sitting by it's lonesome behind the school.

"What's a field house?"

"It's the locker room"

"Well where's the stadium?" I asked looking around; "Why do they have a locker room but no stadium?"

"Ratliff stadium is three miles away, on game day they come here and go over the game plain and stuff, then a school bus takes them over to the stadium, with police escort and everything. Then when they get there they get changed in the dressing room" she explained.

"That's funny" I said laughing.

"Why is that funny?"

"It's just that in New York City everything is so compressed and tiny. Taking a police escort three miles would take an hour in midday traffic" We sat there for a few minuets in silence. It felt like Nicole was taking in the beauty of the high school. I felt like I was going to melt in the heat; "So what's the story with the football team?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well every high school football team has a story. You know, scandal, injuries, record breaking. What does Odessa have?"

"Well since 1946 we've won four state championships, been to the state finals eight times, and made the playoffs fifteen times"

"How do you know all that?"

"Everyone knows that" I nodded; "But we're goin to state in eighty eight. We're going to go undefeated too"

"We'll see"

"Hey. If your going to go to school here, you have to root for the Panthers. I have a few t-shirts you can borrow"

"Sure. So do you know the varsity team personally or do you just know them because you go to school with them?"

"Both" she laughed; "Walter knew them because he played with them obviously and I went to all the practices so we've hung out a few times. But I've also had class with all of them through the years" she said pulling out of the parking lot; "I'm gonna show you the stadium"

"Okay. Do you guys talk or hang out now?"

"Oh yeah, we go to the same parties"

"Can I go to one?"

"Of course! Oh it's crazy you'll love it"

"So tell me about the guys, any hotties?"

"Eh, not to me but to the rest of the school. Everyone loves Boobie"

"Boobie? What is that?"

Nicole laughed; "His name is James Miles, but everyone calls him Boobie. He's a running back, he's been playing since elementary school and the whole town has been watching. Can't wait to see what he does this year"

"I can't wait to go to the first game"

"Really?"

"Yeah. See what all the hype is about. Besides I need some new eye candy"

"Well if you want eye candy you can look at Mike Winchell, the QB, he's pretty cute, he's quiet though. I've known him since middle school, or Brian Chavez. Everyone loves him, he's a big guy, mean on the field too. He's Mexican"

"Oh no, not a Mexican" I joked.

"Shut up. Here we are" she said pulling up to the enormous parking lot that surrounded the stadium. It looked like it was placed there by an alien space ship, just sitting out there in the parking lot by itself. With the big steal lighting structure holding the bright lights surrounded the stadium, I had to admit it looked pretty amazing; "Those lights become an addiction"

"Oh yeah?" I asked looking at her.

"Especially when you live somewhere like Odessa. The Friday Night Fix we call it"

"I don't know what you're talking about. It's just a game" I said, still looking at the stadium.

"What did I tell you about not talking like that while your in Odessa? Kelly you just don't get it"

"What don't I get?" I asked starting to get annoyed.

"These kids...they...they hold the whole town on their shoulders. They have to work their ass off at every practice, and at every game to prove themselves, to prove that they deserve to be a Permian Panther and wear the black. They play through injuries so they wont be benched the following week. You know, I've seen broken fingers and dislocated shoulders being put back in place on the sidelines. Don't get me started on practices either, playing out here in the heat mixed in with the stench of vomit from overworking. It's intense. It's the most intense thing I've ever seen, and these boys love it. They live it. It's three and a half months of devotion. Nothing else matters in those three and a half months. Do you know how many people they play in front of?" I didn't say anything, I knew Nicole was on a rant and out to prove a point; "They play in front of as many as twenty thousand fans on a Friday night"

"That's a lot of people"

"It's a lot of people hating you if you lose"

"No one hates them if they lose"

"They'll never say it but..." she trailed off. A few minutes of awkwad silence followed.

"So...you guys have a mall around here?"

Nicole shook her head and got out of her trance; "Uh yeah...it's up the road" The mall was only a few blocks from the school and on the way there Nicole told me about the custom Mojo handbags that were sold exclusively at JcPenny; "Regular price twenty four ninety nine, but they are usually on sale for nine"

"Do you have one?"

"I have two"

"I thought so"

She pulled into the JcPenny parking lot; "This is it. Opened eight years ago. We have a Sears too"

"Is this it? It's so tiny" I said looking around the parking lot; "Is there a second floor?"

"Second floor? No. Are the malls bigger in New York?"

"Everything is bigger in New York"

"True" Nicole replied laughing; "I want to go back there again some day"

"Hey maybe after graduation we can go take a trip back up there"

"That would be awesome. I have no idea what I'm doing after graduation"

"I know what I'm doing"

"What?"

"I'm getting the hell out of Texas"


	3. Donnie REVISED

Chapter 3

Donnie

Nicole and I went into the mall and walked around for a little bit. There weren't many people inside doing much shopping but I was very amused while we sat in the food court and people watched; "Does everyone wear cowboy boots?" I asked as we sat at a table and ate some pizza; "I need to buy some stuff, do you have a Wal Mart around here or anything?"

"Oh yeah we do! It's new!"

I laughed; "I'm guessing the locals were really excited about this new Wal Mart huh?"

"We had a big grand opening party and everything"

"You went to it didn't you?"

"Of course!"

Nicole and I finished our food then drove a few minutes to Wal Mart. It was smaller than any of the other ones I've been to in New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, and there weren't many cars in the parking lot; "What time do you have to be home?" she asked me as we walked up to the front doors.

"Whenever I guess, my mom didn't really say"

"What are you guys doing for the Fourth of July?"

"Oh that's right it's tomorrow isn't it?"

"Yeah. We're having a barbecue, my parents will probably invite you all of you"

"Sounds good" When we got inside we headed straight to the health and beauty section; "We had a weight limit and a very small U-Haul so mom made us throw all this stuff out before we left" I said rolling my eyes as I sniffed body washes; "You like this one?"

Nicole sniffed the bottle of body wash and scrunched up her nose; "No"

"Do you need to pick up anything?" I asked and continued to shop.

"Nope"

"Yo! I need to buy some condoms come on!" We heard a male's voice echo from the isle over.

"Wow. Say it any louder?" I smirked rolling my eyes. I finally picked out a body wash; "Alright I need toothpaste" I said throwing it in my basket.

"Next isle over" Nicole said nodding her head; "I'll meet you over there, I just remembered I'm out of hair conditioner"

I walked to the end of the isle, rounded the corner and ran into three guys huddled in front of the condom and lubrication section; "Hey, yeah I'd go with the Magnums" I said confidently and humorlessly and took a package off the shelf and handed them to a guy wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and a red baseball cap; "Have a great night" I said with a smile.

"Uh...yeah" he said and looked at the package of condoms, then back at me; "Thanks?"

I turned and walked towards the toothpaste laughing to my self; "Hey Nicole" the guy I handed the Magnum condoms to said when Nicole walked into the isle we were standing in.

"Now that's funny" I said to myself and grabbed a package of toothpaste off the shelf and threw it in my basket.

"Hey guys" Nicole said smiling at them.

"We were just uh...Donnie here is..." one of them stuttered.

"Gonna have a good night" the other said laughing.

Nicole smiled awkwardly; "Guys I want you to meet my cousin Kelly" she said waving me over to them. I shook my head and mouthed; 'no' to her just as the guys turned to me. I quickly turned back around and pretended to look at products on the shelf; "Come here Kelly" she pressed.

I turned around walked over to them; "I'm Kelly" I said with a smile.

"This is Mike Winchell, Brian Chavez" she introduced; "and Donnie Billingsley"

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about the whole...Magnum thing"

"It's alright" Donnie said shrugging his shoulders.

"Your not from around here are you?" Mike asked.

"She's from New York City" Nicole answered for me; "She just moved here today"

"Nice" Mike said; "I've always wanted to go to New York City"

"I already miss it"

"I bet"

"So...let me guess. You guys play football" I said looking at Mike and Brian gray Permian Panther's t-shirts.

"Yeah" Brian replied; "You have football up there in the big city?"

"We do but people aren't as enthusiastic about it"

"You'll be at school this year?" Brian asked.

"Yep, I'm a senior so I'm sure I'll see you guys around"

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Nicole asked.

"Nick is having a fourth of July party" Brian replied.

"Nick Yost?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, are you guys coming?" Donnie asked, suddenly speaking up.

"Oh um...we weren't invited" Nicole replied; "Besides, Kelly just got here she probably wants to unpack and-"

"We can go" I interrupted.

"Yeah you can come with us" Brian said; "You know how to get there Nicole?"

"No, but um...I'll just follow you"

"Is anyone buying?" I asked looking through my messenger bag.

"Buying what?" Nicole asked curiously.

"Drinks" I said under my breath; "You know, alcohol"

"You want to supply for them?"

"Nicole it's fine" I said laughing; "Don't worry about it"

"You can get us some?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah. I have I.D. if you want us to pick something up on the way"

"Awesome" Brian said laughing.

"I don't think I'm gonna go" Mike said shaking his head; "I should get home"

"Oh come on Winchell" Donnie said elbowing Mike; "It's the fourth of July"

"Alright but...just for a little bit"

"Nicole follow me to the liquor store on forty second street then we'll head to Nick's"

"Perfect. Come on Kelly"

"It was nice meeting you" I said and smiled at the three guys. I caught Donnie's eye again and I winked at him; "Have fun with those tonight"

"We will - I mean...I will"

I laughed; "See you guys later"

* * *

Nicole and I paid for our items then went back to her truck; "Oh my goodness!" I yelled buckling my seat belt.

"What?" Nicole asked starting the truck then realized what I was talking about; "Which one do you think is cute?"

"Donnie!"

"Oh no..."

"What? What's wrong with Donnie?"

"Well..."

"What? Is he a serial killer or something?"

"More like serial...dater"

"Oh. Does he have a girlfriend...now?"

"No, he just likes to...have a good time and he knows he's good looking" she said and nodded her head at the car that drove in front of her truck in the parking lot; "There they are. Ready?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

"Donnie's an okay guy. His dad played football. Won a state championship"

"Oh that's cool"

"Puts a lot of pressure on him though you know?"

"True"

"He's a party animal though, and a womanizer. Just be careful"

"Listen, if I get drunk tonight...which I probably will..."

"Of course" Nicole smirked as we pulled into the liquor store parking lot. Brian pulled up next to us and smiled at me.

"Let Don take advantage of me" I finished.

"What?" Nicole yelled getting out of the car; "Are you serious?"

"Serious about what?" Brian asked as he and the guys got out of their car.

"Nothing" I said laughing; "Nothing"

"No but seriously Kelly, are you serious?" Nicole asked again.

"Yes. I am" I replied trying to keep a straight face as I saw Donnie out of the corner of my eye walk towards Nicole and I; "So what do you guys want me to get?"

"Get a keg for us" Donnie said handing me money; "Thanks"

"Alright, I'm gonna get you and I some Vodka okay?" I asked Nicole; "You guys stay here, don't act suspicious"

"Is her I.D. a good fake I.D.?" Donnie asked Nicole leaning against Brian's car after I went inside.

"I've never seen it, but I know she buys a lot in New York"

Donnie nodded his head then turned to Brian; "This girls hot" he whispered trying to act nonchalantly in front of Nicole.

"Come on Don, she's new in town. Don't make her first memory be of you and her together" he teased.

"I heard that" Nicole said staring at them.

I came out of the liquor store a few minutes later carrying a keg and two bottles of Vodka. I opened the tail gate of Nicole's truck and lifted the keg up onto the bed; "Just in case we get pulled over" I said noticing the guys were watching me with their alcohol; "Just to be safe"

"Thanks" Donnie said and I handed him his change; "Keep it"

"Alright, we'll meet you over there" I got back in Nicole's truck and we followed Brian's car across town; "Who's this Nick guy anyway I don't like partying at random people's houses"

"Oh just some guy, he's known for his parties since he lives on his own"

"Do you know him?"

"Well...I go to school with him but..."

"You've never talked to him have you?"

"No, but we're with the guys, it'll be fine"

"Does he play football?"

"He's in a band"

"Maybe I'll get with him" Nicole stared at me; "I'm kidding! Geez, I'm just joking"

"Good, because Donnie thinks your hot"

"Really?" I asked; "What did he say?"

Nicole laughed; "He said 'she's pretty good looking'"

"Anything else?"

"No, after I told them that I could hear what they were talking about they stopped talking"

"Do I look okay?" I asked looking at my outfit. I was wearing cut off jean shorts, black Converse low top sneakers, and a plain white t-shirt; "I look like crap"

"You look good for someone who just spent three days in a U-Haul. You did shower right?"

"Yeah, I showered this morning in the hotel"

"Okay good"

"Anything else about Donnie I should know before this party?"

"His parents are divorced, his mom lives in Oklahoma um...his dad is a lose cannon, he's been to rehab before" she replied; "Ummm he's a fighter, he's cocky, and he's been drinking since he was like...five"

"Really? My kind of guy"

Nicole rolled her eyes; "So many girls want to be with him though, he says he's been with a lot of them but I've never really seen him with a girlfriend"

"I'll be his girlfriend. He's hot"

"You said that already"

"I can't help it"

"Don't you have a boyfriend in New York?"

"Zac? No he's not my boyfriend he's just...a friend"

"Just a friend? You sure about that?"

I smiled; "We just...spent a lot of time together this summer"

"Listen, since I know you like Donnie and Chavo knows he thinks your hot I'm sure we'll both be trying to hook you guys up tonight"

"Fine by me" I laughed; "If we're both not drunk in a matter of five minutes"

Nicole glared at me; "Yeah. That's true. It will be an interesting night either way I can tell you that!"


	4. The Party REVISED

Chapter 4

The Party

When we pulled up to Nick's house Donnie and Brian grabbed the keg out of the back of Nicole's truck before we even had a chance to get out; "We'll see you inside!" Donnie yelled over his shoulder as they carried it up the walkway of Nick's house.

"You girls be careful okay?" Mike asked walking past us then ran to catch up with Brian and Donnie.

"Wow" I said laughing; "They do this every weekend?"

"Donnie and Chavo do. Mike doesn't come out often" Nicole replied.

I go the two bottles of vodka out of the truck and handed one to Nicole; "One of you, and this one is mine, plus whatever you don't drink out of yours"

"Shut up, I will drink you under the table" she said taking the bottle, and we walked into Nick's house.

"Oh yeah? You've been practicing since the last time I saw you?

"Maybe..."

"That's my girl" We walked into the crowded and very loud house and I was surprised that southern kids new how to throw a party like the ones back home; "Come on, let's find the kitchen"

"It's this way" Nicole said leading me through the living room and into the kitchen.

"You come here often?" I asked with a laugh as I filled two cups half with vodka, then found a bottle of Coca Cola on the counter and topped off the cups; "Here" I said handing it to her; "Cheers" I downed the cup of alcohol then stashed the bottles back in my messenger bag; "Don't drink anything in less I give it to you okay? I don't know these kids, that means I don't trust them"

Nicole finished her cup then shook her head; "Yeah. Okay"

"You alright?"

She blinked her eyes and rubbed her head, feeling the effects; "I'm fine. Come on, I want you to meet some people"

Nicole dragged me through the house introducing me to a few of her friends. Most of the people I met seemed nice, but everyone was either wearing Permian Panthers t-shirts, or cowboy boots - or both. I got lots of comments about "city life" and I was asked if I ever knew what football was.

She introduced me to some of the players from the team as well. I met "Boobie" who told me that New York ain't got nothing on him, Jerrod McDougal who was complaining about the bad rap music being played, Chris Comer a third string fullback who was one of the nicest people I met all night, and Ivory Christian was didn't say a word to me and was hanging out with Mike in a corner of the living room by themselves.

In between meeting people Nicole and did shots of vodka in the kitchen, and watched Donnie do a keg stand in the kitchen; "Hey I'm gonna go to the bathroom" she said handing me her cup.

"Okay" I said taking it; "Wait! What is this?"

"Beer"

"I thought I told you not to take anything from anyone"

"I got it from Don, from the keg, don't worry about"

I sighed; "Alright. Just hurry up in there"

"I'll be right back. Stay here"

"I'm not going anywhere" I said and hopped up on the kitchen counter.

"Hey!" Donnie yelled walking past Nicole, and into the kitchen; "What you doing in here?"

"Sitting on the counter" I said and undid the buckle on my messenger bag to get my bottle of vodka out; "What are you doing?"

"Refill" he said holing up his cup. I nodded my head and undid the cap and took a swig; "Let me get some of that?"

"Why?" I asked putting the lid back on.

"Maybe I want to get drunk faster" he said walking over to me.

"I think your already well on your way"

"Come on, let me just have a shot" he was standing in front of me now, staring at me.

"This? You want this?" I teased smiling and pointed at the bottle; "You want a shot from my bottle?"

"Yeah! Come on!" he said reaching for it.

"Nope! I don't think so!" I said switching hands quickly above my head; "Nope!"

"I'm gonna get it" he reached for it again and I switched hands just as he was about to grab it.

"Shh be quiet, people might get the wrong idea" I joked; "One. One shot" I said and handed it over. Don smiled at me and took the bottle, he moved a few steps back, then took a long swig from the bottle; "Hey! That's enough!"

Donnie stopped drinking and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand; "Thanks" he said and put the cap back on and tossed the bottle at me; "You know you look good tonight" he said, slurring his words as he spoke.

"And your drunk" I smirked and put the bottle back in my bag.

"So you have a boyfriend up north?"

"Nope. No boyfriend"

"Where's your cousin?"

"Nicole? She's in the bathroom"

Donnie nodded and looked me over seductively. I knew he was drunk and probably wouldn't have given me the time of day in less we were at this party, he is a football player after all; "How long you staying here?" he slurred; "At this party?"

"I don't know, a while"

"You wanna come with me?" he asked walking back over to me and positioned himself in between my legs, he put his hands on my knees and looked at me in the eyes.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"My house" he whispered.

"You have your car?"

"Kelly!" Nicole yelled, walking into the kitchen. Donnie and I both turned and looked at her.

"What's up?" Donnie said nodding at Nicole.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked walking over to me she took her cup of beer and threw it in the garbage; "Give me that vodka please"

"Here" I said taking it out of the bag, which was harder than usual to do since Donnie was still in between my legs while I sat on the counter; "Donnie and I are gonna head out"

"Where are you going?" she asked wiping her head around at me quickly and shot me a look; "I drove you here"

"Well um..." I said looking back and forth between Nicole and Donnie.

"I'm gonna borrow Chavo's car for a bit" Donnie explained; "We won't be gone long"

Nicole poured herself another cup of vodka and Coca Cola; "Your alright to drive?" she asked Donnie.

"Yeah. I do this all the time"

"Not with my cousin in the car"

"We'll be okay" I said and hopped down off the counter.

"You think you can give Chavo and Mike a ride home?" Donnie asked Nicole.

Nicole stared at Donnie for a minute, sort of shocked that he would ask her to do such a favor. She knew how cute I thought Donnie was so she gave in; "Fine. But Donnie"

"Yeah?"

"You owe me"

"Okay. I'm gonna go talk to Chavo, I'll meet you outside okay?" he asked, turning to me.

"Alright" I said and took the bottle back from Nicole and took another swig before putting it back in my bag.

"Kelly!" Nicole yelled at me after Donnie left the room; "What the hell fuck are you doing?"

"Hell fuck? Drunk much?"

"Shut up"

"Listen, I told you he's cute" I said and started to walk towards the front door.

"Do you have protection?"

"Who said we're having sex?"

"It's Billingsley"

"And I'm Gates. What's the point?"

"The point is your both drunk and your gonna regret this. Juts be careful, he shouldn't even be driving"

"We'll be fine. Trust me" I said stepping outside onto Nick's porch; "I'll call you in the morning. Just sober up, and get home okay?Let Mike drive if you have to" Nicole nodded; "Oh, and if you see that Nick guy, tell him he has a nice house"

Nicole didn't laugh; "Call me. Do not forget"

"I won't Nicole. I love you!"

"I love you too!"

I waited for Donnie outside on the stoop for a few minutes, drinking more until he finally came outside with the keys to Brian's car; "Come on"

"Your good to drive right?" I asked tossing the empty bottle to the side as I walked behind Donnie to the car.

He walked over to the driver's side door and took a few minutes trying to find the right key to unlock the door before realizing that the door was already unlocked; "Yeah. Get in"

I got in the passenger seat and sat facing him the whole way; "So..." I said staring at him; "What do you want to do?"

"You" he said laughing.

"Really?" Donnie continued to speed down the country roads that he navigated perfectly, even under the influence. It was obvious that he knew the roads like the back of his hand; "We're going to your house?" Donnie nodded; "Are your parents home?"

"No, my dad is in San Angelo until Wednesday"

"Good" I said putting my hand on his headrest and ran my fingers through his hair; "Horny?"

"Very" he said gripping the steering wheel; "But um...I didn't buy those condoms when I saw you earlier"

"It's okay" I said shrugging my shoulders.

"You sure?"

"I don't think I can wait until we get to your house"

"What? Really?" he asked looking at me and almost lost control of the car.

I laughed; "Yeah. Come on, just pull over there's no one out here"

"Seriously?"

"Donnie! Just do it" I said laughing; "You want to right?"

"Yeah yeah. Okay" We pulled off the side of the road and Donnie turned off the car. We looked around for a few minutes and we couldn't see anything, no houses, no roads, no cars; "We should be good here" he said and took of his hat and shirt.

"I am so drunk" I said and kicked off my shoes and slid my shorts and underwear off. My head was spinning and my whole body felt tingly - in both then sexual and drunken way.

"Me too" Donnie took off his pants as I laid down across the front seat of Brian's car with my legs open, ready to accept Donnie. He positioned himself and started kissing me deep and passionately, boy could he kiss!

I could smell and taste the alcohol on him but I was so out of it I just laid back and closed my eyes; "Just...fuck me" I moaned as he kissed me down my neck, then he slipped himself inside me.

Since I've only ever had sex with Zac and knew what to expect in terms of size and stamina from our previous rendezvous, I had no idea what sex with Donnie was going to be like. Quick? Long? Painful? Sensual? Was he going to be able to get me off? All of these thoughts ran through my head, as well as how much I had to drink, and how badly I wanted to finish the second bottle of vodka when we were finished; "Hey" Donnie said as he continued to thrust back and forth inside of me; "You alright?"

"Yeah. Sorry" I said and started to concentrate at the task at hand. I moved with his body, dug my nails into his back, and moaned with him, letting him know I was enjoying it and assisting in his orgasm. Sex with Donnie was amazing compared to the awkward sex I had with Zac a few days ago. The longer it lasted the more I wanted it, and the more I wanted Donnie. We reached our orgasms at almost the same time, mine only a few moments before Donnie finished in me.

We laid there for a few moments staring at each other in the darkness; "Sorry" he whispered and pulled out.

"It's fine" I said and laid there naked.

Donnie nodded his head and handed me my clothes; "Do you want to go back to the party?"

"Yeah"

"Okay. Get dressed" Donnie put his pants back on, and his shirt and hat and sat quietly behind the drivers seat while I got dressed, he didn't look at me once; "Ready?" he finally asked as I tied the shoelaces on my Converse.

I nodded my head and Donnie turned the car around and drove off down the road towards Nick's house; "You have more alcohol right?"

"I have that other bottle of vodka"

"We can finish that" When we got back to Nick's house we sat in Brian's car for a little bit taking swigs from the bottle of vodka together; "Where do you live?" he asked out of the blue.

"Um...Turner Street? I think"

"Oh"

"You?"

"Fifth street"

Suddenly there was a knock on the driver's side window that startled us and we both jumped; "What the hell?" Donnie asked and rolled down the window.

Some guy that I didn't recognize leaned down and looked at Donnie; "Billingsley" he said calmly; "Party at Taylor's house gonna get wasted"

"Yeah I'm already there Kev" Donnie said holding up the bottle of vodka we were working on.

"Oh. Alright" he said then looked over at me; "Who's she?"

"Kelly" Donnie replied and took another swig.

"Hi Kelly" the kid said smiling at me; "How are you?"

"Fine"

"Alright well it looks like you two were in the middle of something so I'll catch ya later Billingsley"

"Later Kev" Donnie said and rolled the window back up.

"Who was that?"

"My friend Kevin. He's crazy"

"He's wasted"

"Yeah, and he's crazy. I'm going inside, you coming?"

"Right behind you" I said and finished off the second bottle of vodka then got out of the car. I stumbled as I tried to put my messenger bag over my shoulder and shut the car door at the same time. By the time I regained my balance Donnie was gone and had already went inside the house; "Nice" I said to myself. I searched the parking lot for a few minutes for Nicole's truck and passed out. The next thing I remember is waking up in my bed the following afternoon with the worse headache I've ever had.


	5. Permian High School REVISED

Chapter 5

Permian High School

August 22nd, 1988

That summer I got adjusted to living in Texas - kind of. I got used to the heat, the thunderstorms, and food but I didn't get used to the lack of entertainment, pavement, or bright lights. I set up my room in the basement and spent a lot of time down there listening to music, reading, or drinking with Nicole. We went to a lot of parties over the summer, the same one's that the football team went to but it seemed that every party we went to, Donnie had just left or was very good at avoiding us. Mike and Brian talked to us but I'm pretty sure everyone knew what happened between Donnie and I but no one wanted me to know they knew.

Nicole and I went to the first practice at the beginning of the month. It started at seven in the morning and we were both hung over but Nicole wanted me to see how intense the practices were and how devoted and united the fifty five team members were - I've never seen so many people throw up in one day. After the practice Nicole was talking to Brian and Mike outside the stadium while I ran to the bathroom for a second. When I came out Donnie was standing with them, and when he saw me he told Brian and Mike they should go. I was confused. Was he being shy? Or was he being an asshole?

Last Monday the Permian Booster Club held the annual Watermelon Feed in the school cafeteria. By the time this event comes around, everyone is town is excited and relieved because it meant that the football season was around the corner. Eight hundred people crammed into the cafeteria to get a glimpse of the players. The Pepette's were there too, a select group of senior girls who were basically the school spirit squad. When you were a Pepette you were assigned a football player at the beginning of the year that you would bake sweets for every week before the game, and Pepette's were the ones that made those large black and white signs that sat in several front yards.

The Watermelon Feed started with a prayer, then a video of the previous season highlights. The Watermelon Feed was a beauty pageant of sorts - at least that's what I called it! One by one each member of the football team was called up on stage and introduced. When their names were called, each player walked down a narrow aisle that separated the cafeteria in half. Everyone in the cafeteria went nuts when a player's name was called - no matter who it was. That night I finally realized how much people love their football.

Two days after the Watermelon Feed the team traveled to Amarillo for a pre-season scrimmage against the Polo Duro Dons. That's where it happened. Boobie Miles, the Permian Panthers star fullback hurt his knee. His leg got stuck in the artificial turf when he tried to stiff arm a tackler. Another player fell on the side of his leg and agonizing pain and the sound of crunching overtook Boobie's body. He limped to the sideline, unable to put pressure on it. The team doctor, Weldon Butler, told Boobie he was going to be out six to eight weeks before taking any x-rays.

On the way back to Odessa Boobie didn't say a word to anyone. He sat at the front of the bus and you could see his world crumbling, you could see his dreams and hopes draining from his body. The following day he showed up at the field house after a medical exam and informed everyone it was just a sprained ligament, and that the doctor said he would be out ten to fourteen days, two to three games at the most. After a second exam by another doctor it was revealed that Boobie would need arthroscopic surgery, and would be out almost a month, after which he'd have to wear a knee brace. Boobie was optimistic that he would be out there making plays and taking his team to state in no time.

No one knew what the future held or how the season was going to play out anymore.

* * *

"Kelly! Come on!" My mom yelled, standing at the top of the basement steps; "It's six thirty, school starts in half an hour are you out of bed?"

"What?" I mumbled and rolled over in my bed; "I'll go to school tomorrow"

My mom threw my bedroom door open; "Yes, and you will go today. Come on, get up"

She flicked the light on and I quickly covered my face with the blanket; "I'm up"

"You have half an hour"

"I heard you"

"Don't make me rip those blankets off"

"I'M UP!" I screamed and sat up in bed.

"Good" my said and turned to go back upstairs.

"Is Kevin giving me a ride?" Kevin bought an old rust-bucket truck off a local farmer a few weeks ago but my mom hasn't let him drive too often since he still has half a cast on his arm.

"I was going to let him but..."

"It didn't start did it?"

"No. I will give you both a ride on my way to work. Come on, hurry up or we're all going to be late"

"Yeah yeah yeah" I said rolling my eyes; "I'll be up there in a minute"

I got changed into a pair of jeans and one of the Permian Panthers t-shirts Nicole lent me over the summer. I slipped on a pair of flips flops, did my hair and made my way upstairs to brush my teeth, grab a quick breakfast, and meet my mom and Kevin in the car. "Good morning sleeping beauty" Kevin said sarcastically as I got in the back seat.

"Morning"

"Do you two have any classes together?" my mom asked backing out of our driveway.

"Just homeroom and lunch" Kevin replied.

"Help each other out if you can't find a class okay?" My mom continued giving Kevin and I the "first day of school" talk all the way to the high school. She dropped us off in the front parking lot; "Have a good day! I'll be home around five" she yelled out the drivers side window; "I love you!"

"Bye mom" Kevin and I yelled with a wave.

"I'll see ya inside" Kevin said and turned to walk inside; "You waiting for Nicole?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute" I stood in the parking lot and scanned the crowds of people and lines of cars trying to find Nicole. I saw Brian's car but didn't see Mike, Brian, or Donnie.

"Hey stranger!" Nicole yelled coming up behind me; "Lost already?"

"Very funny. No, I was just looking for you"

"Well here I am! Ready?"

"Oh yeah I'm real excited for the first day of school" I said rolling my eyes.

"You know where your homeroom is?" Nicole asked as we started to walk inside the school.

"Yeah, right at the top of the stairs, and I'll see you in english class later. Seventh period"

"Sounds good, if you get lost just go to the front office, they can help you"

"I should be fine" I said nodding as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well I should go or we'll both be late - oh wait" Nicole said pulling on my arm; "Did you see Donnie today?" she whispered moving closer to me.

"No, but I saw Brian's car. Yeah, lots of happy memories there" I said rolling my eyes.

"You loved it, don't lie to yourself"

"Yeah but I just wish he would have...gee I don't know...talked to me this summer!"

"Sorry" she said shrugging her shoulders; "We'll get it figured out, we're in school now. We're bound to run into each other"

* * *

After homeroom I had history, health, then food science. My health class and my food science class were on opposite sides of the school - I had to haul ass just to make it to the right hallway but I ended up being late. I walked up to the classroom about two minutes after the late bell rang and tried to open the door but it was locked; "What the hell" I muttered.

"Your late" the teacher said flinging the door open which I was still holding onto, I stumbled forward a few steps.

"By a minute or two! It's the first day!" I snapped back.

"Let me guess. Ms. Gates?"

"Yeah" I said nodding my head.

"I'm your chemistry teacher Mrs. Rhodes and if you keep giving me this attitude I will make the next nine months of your life horrible" she stated and walked over to her desk and looked in her attendance book while I stood in the doorway. I looked around the room and saw Donnie sitting in the front row across the room. He was scribbling something on a piece of paper and didn't seem to be paying attention. I had a mini panic attack and thought about sweet talking the teacher on the spot into switching to biology instead; "Kelly you can have a seat" Donnie immediately looked over at me.

"Um...where?" I asked nervously trying to look anywhere else but at Donnie.

"You can have a seat behind Donnie Billingsley"

"Can I sit somewhere else?"

"Excuse me?" the teacher asked while the other students in the room started to laugh and talk amongst themselves.

"Um...I have a vision problem -"

"I think you have an attitude problem"

"I have a vision problem that requires me to sit on the...right side of the room...and not near any windows"

The teacher and I stared at each for a few moments; "Have a seat Kelly"

I reluctantly walked over to Donnie's row and to the empty seat behind him with my head down, eyes focused on the floor. I sat down, put my messenger bag on the desk and slouched down in my seat. I didn't want to be any closer to Donnie than I had to be. I didn't want to smell his cologne, or risk accidentally bumping my bag into his back - even though all I could think about once I sat down was the amazing sex we had together.

"Your that new girl huh?" the kid sitting next to me asked.

"Yeah" I replied turning to him.

"I heard a lot about you"

I glared at Donnie and he turned his head slightly like he was listening in our conversation; "Oh yeah? What did you hear?"

"That you supplied at Nick's parties this summer"

"I was only at one of his parties and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the world okay?"

"I heard your an easy fuck too"

"What? Where the hell did you hear that?"

"I don't think I can tell you. I shouldn't tell the world" he said sarcastically and turned back around in his desk.

I was disgusted, pissed off, annoyed, and just wanted to walk out of class. Donnie was the only person I've ever had sex with in the state of Texas and I knew he was telling everyone before the school year even started. I kicked the bottom of Donnie's desk to get his attention. He didn't notice the first kick to his desk so I kicked again, this time harder. Donnie turned around and looked at me; "Did you tell anyone-"

"No" he interrupted me.

"Then why-"

"He doesn't know what he's talking about"

The teacher stood in front of Donnie's desk and handed him five worksheets to pass back in his row; "Quiet please" she said as she handed them to him.

Donnie handed me the pile of worksheets and looked me in the eyes; "Sorry Kelly"


	6. Confusion REVISED

Chapter 6

Confusion

For the rest of the day I spent a lot of time repeating my self; "New York City", "Nick's party", and "Yes we have football up north" seemed to be the only words that were coming out of my mouth. I ate lunch in the cafeteria with Kevin and met some of his friends. Nicole and I had english class together and I told her about what happened in food science; "That's all he said?" she asked as we sat down at two empty desks in the back of the classroom.

"Yeah"

"I can't believe he didn't say anything to the kid, Donnie is such a fighter. Do you know who he was?"

"No. He was ugly though"

Nicole laughed; "Well Donnie could be sorry and just nervous...or..."

"Or he's a dick and told everyone"

"Well I know he would have told Brian, Brian might have told Mike and then...yeah"

"So the whole football team knows"

"The whole football team knows what?" a tall, lanky kid asked sitting down next to us.

"Hey Sam" Nicole said smiling at him; "How was your summer?"

"I spent it in Missouri with my girlfriend. It was amazing"

I looked at Nicole and gave her a confused look; "Sam this is my cousin Kelly"

"Nice to meet you" I said smiling at him.

"Let me guess, you play football too?"

"No, his mother doesn't let him play anymore" Nicole teased.

Sam shook his head; "I played Freshman year but I got hurt and don't play anymore, I"m a student trainer"

"Oh. What do they do?"

"Lots of stuff" he replied proudly; "I hang up the uniforms in the locker room before every game, and I clean the helmets and stuff"

"So you've been to all the practices this season then right?" Nicole asked, I could tell the gears in her head were grinding and a plan was forming.

"Yep, all of them"

"Are you friends with Donnie?" I asked.

"Billingsley? Yeah, kind of"

"Have you noticed anything weird about him lately?" Nicole asked quietly as the teacher started talking in the front of the room; "Or has he said anything weird?"

"Weird? No, same old Donnie"

Nicole and I looked at each other; "So he hasn't said anything at all to you?" I asked; "It's really important. You haven't heard any rumors or there wasn't a big fight or anything?" Nicole pressed.

"Oh yeah!" Sam said with a big smile on his face; "Some of the guys were talking about a part at Nicks" my stomach dropped as Sam spoke; "Something about a girl passed out in the bed of a truck and one of the guys sleeping with her"

"Donnie said that?" I asked, obviously annoyed as well as pissed off and a million other emotions.

"A lot of the guys were talking about it, but yeah Billingsley was there"

"Did he go into detail about sleeping with the girl?"

"Wait wait wait" Sam said shaking his head; "Donnie was talking about it but he didn't tell me it was him"

"What?" I asked confused; "What do you mean? Who was he talking about?"

"Everyone said they saw the girl with Chavez in his car"

Nicole and I glared at each other in shock; "Are you sure?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, then one guy saw her stumble around outside in the driveway then pass out in a truck. Why? What's going on?" Sam asked looking back and forth between Nicole and I.

"Nothing, just...we know the girl" I said shrugging my shoulders; "We're just trying to figure out what people have been saying that's all"

"Your gonna be at practice after school today right?" Nicole asked Sam.

"Yeah. You guys should come"

"We will"

"What? I'm not going!" I protested.

"Don't you want to know what the hell is going on?"

"The only way I'll go is if you do all the talking. He's your friend"

"And he's your -"

"Don't even say it" I said looking around the classroom; "I'm pretty sure every person in here knows what happened between me and Donnie" I whispered.

"You mean you and Brian" she said with a laugh. I glared at her; "Sorry. Just meet me at my truck after school. I'll talk to them"

* * *

After my last class I walked casually out of school and into the parking lot. I saw Nicole standing next to her truck waiting for me, and I ran to meet her; "Ready?" she asked taking her keys out of her pocket.

"Kind of" I threw my book bag in the bed of the truck and got in the passenger seat. We drove to the stadium and walked up into the stands. I was amazed at how many people showed up to the practices. Not just parents, and girlfriends but people from the town of Odessa who didn't even have sons on the team showed up, as well as middle school players, and even college scouts; "What number is Donnie?" I asked as we sat down.

"He's twenty-six"

I scanned the field of black and white jerseys and found Donnie in formation stretching with the rest of the team; Who's number four?"

"Um..." Nicole started then cleared her throat; "That's Chavez"

I looked over at her; "Can we just go?"

"No. It'll be fine. We'll just watch the practice, then wait for them afterwards to talk. They usually all go out to eat or something, so maybe we'll go with"

"Yeah. We'll see"

Practice started a few minutes later and they split into two smaller teams, one wearing black, and one wearing white, to practice plays on each other. Two girls came into the stands and sat in the row in front of us. They started chatting and pointing out on the field; "He's so hot" one of them, blonde, and bubbly said.

"Here we go" I said rolling my eyes.

"I know them" Nicole started; "The blonde is Bridgitte, head cheerleader and most popular"

"What a bitch. Do you know the other one?"

"Gina. We were best friends in middle school but once she hit high school and guys started liking her she stopped talking to me"

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Gina asked Ashley, the two girls were obviously not interested in the sport of football, but rather the sport of the football players.

"He didn't have one at Nick's party Saturday"

Nicole and I looked at each and smiled; "This ought to be good" Nicole whispered.

"I heard he's good in...you know" Gina said giggling; "That's what a few girls have told me"

"I'd like to know if that's true" Gina noticed Nicole and I sitting behind them listening in on their conversation and nudged Ashley. "Oh. Hey Nicole" Ashley said coldly, as she turned around.

"Hi Ashley. How have you been?"

"Fine"

"We were...um.... just leaving" Gina said and stood up; "Come on Ashley"

"Who were you guys talking about?" Nicole asked quickly.

"No one" Ashley replied as Gina blurted out "Donnie" at the same time.

"Wow, this Donnie guy must be amazing, I've been hearing so much about him" I said smiling at Ashley and Gina; "Maybe I should throw myself at him like so many of you girls around here do"

"Is this your...friend?" Ashley asked Nicole; "She's funny"

"She's my cousin, Kelly"

"Nice to meet you" I said smiling up at them.

"You two. Come on Gina" Ashley said tugging on Gina's arm; "Oh and Kelly...if you want a shot with Donnie you should...try a little harder on your appearance"

"You don't need to wear short shorts and a bra to get with Donnie. Trust me"

Ashley and Gina stared at me; "Come on" Ashley whispered to Gina and they walked down the steps of the bleachers and out of the stadium.

"Your a bitch when you wanna be" Nicole said laughing after they left.

"Yeah well you need to know when to play a victim and when to shut someone up"

"I can tell"

* * *

Nicole and I turned our attention back on to the field and watched Donnie catch a pass then run a few yards; "Hang onto the ball! The ball!" one of the coaches yelled at him from the sidelines. Just then Donnie got tackled and the ball flew out of his hands as he hit the ground.

"That sucks" I said staring at Donnie as he laid on the ground for a few minutes then started to get up; "Hey, who's that?" I asked watching an older gentlemen practically run out of the stands and out onto the field.

Nicole looked over at who I was talking about; "Oh geez...it's Donnie's father. I told you about him earlier"

"Hey! Donnie!" Charlie yelled walking over to him on the field; "Hey!" Donnie turned around and put his hands on his hips; "Come here! Come here! What's the problem?"

"Get off the field dad" Donnie said calmly looking at his dad.

"Why can't you hold onto the football? What's so goddamn hard about holding on to it?" Charlie yelled in his sons face.

"This is the one who won state right?" I asked Nicole.

"Yep. He can be crazy" she replied with a laugh.

"Clearly"

"I'm sorry" Donnie said to his dad.

"All you gotta do is hold on to the goddamn football, and you can't do it. Tell me why you can't do it. That's all I wanna know"

"I'll try better next time" Donnie said and started to walk away.

"Hey!" he yelled and grabbed the back of Donnie's jersey and threw him down onto the ground.

"What the hell? He is crazy!" I said as Nicole and I stood up and walked down off the bleachers, we stood along the fence that inclosed the field.

"Tell me why you can't hold onto the ball" Charlie yelled at Donnie who was still laying on the ground; "Tell me! Answer a question" Donnie stood up and stared at his father.

"Mr. Billingsley!" Brian, who has been watching the confrontation in disbelief with his teammates yelled, running over to them. Charlie attempted to throw a punch at Donnie but Brian got in the middle of them; "This is practice. Seriously" Charlie ignored Brian and punched Donnie on the helmet; "Enough" Brian glared at Charlie.

Donnie walked over to the rest of his teammates to join in the huddle while Charlie watched; "Embarrassing me out here" he said under his breath.

"Wow what a loser" I said as Charlie walked past us and back up into the stands.

"Your lucky he didn't hear you" Nicole said; "He might have thrown you to the ground"

Just then there was more commotion on the field when Donnie tackled a player onto the ground; "You don't know when to shut up do you?" we heard Donnie yell.

"Who was that?" I asked, trying to see the number on the jersey.

"I don't know...I can't tell. Donnie will fight with anyone though" she laughed.

Brian and Mike were able to pull Donnie off of him and continue practice for another half hour before the coaches decided to end it.

"Ready to do this?" Nicole asked turning to me as the team ran past us and headed for the locker room.

"After that incident...I'm not so sure" I replied as we walked out of the stadium and into the parking lot.


	7. The Truth REVISED

Chapter 7

The Truth

Nicole and I sat down on the curb waiting for Brian, Mike, and Donnie to come out; "So..." Nicole said, looking around as people got into their cars and left; "You never did tell me how it was"

"How what was? The...sex?"

"Yeah. What was it like with Donnie?"

I laughed hysterically; "Why do you want to know? He's your friend!"

"I just want to know if what all the girls are saying is true"

"I don't think he's been with that many girls"

"Really? Why?"

"He didn't really seem too...experienced. I mean, I've only been with two people but...you can tell when someone does it often you know?"

"I guess"

"You've had sex before right?" I whispered; "I don't need to go into detail do I?"

"No, you don't. I have. Once"

I cleared my throat; "It was...amazing"

"Amazing? Really? It wasn't awkward?"

"No! It was passionate and... hard... all at the same time" I explained slowly, as I remember that night in my mind.

"How do you remember this? Weren't you drunk?"

"I don't think I could ever forget that"

"Wow. I think your a little too sentimental about this one night stand"

I glared at her; "So anyway do you know what your going to say to Donnie?"

"I'm just gonna ask him how many people he told and why he didn't say it was him. He's never lied about the girls he's been with, if he's even been with them in the first place"

"Okay, I'll jump in and say something after I see what he has to say for himself"

"Hey guys!" Sam yelled walking up to us; "You waiting for the guys?"

"Yeah" Nicole said looking up at him; "They are still in here right?"

Sam nodded; "They should be out in a few minutes"

"Thanks Sam" I said smiling at him.

"No problem. Oh, I overheard them talking about you in there"

"Me? Why would they be talking about me?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Because your the one who slept with him right? Not your friend?"

Nicole and I looked at each and knew our cover was blown; "Yeah. It was me"

"It's cool, I won't say anything"

I looked at Nicole; "You can trust him" Nicole said, she could always read my mind.

"Everyone already knows it doesn't really matter"

"You don't know that" Nicole said turning to me; "So what were they saying about her?" she asked Sam.

"Donnie said he saw you standing by the fence, then Mike told him he should talk to you"

"That's it?" I asked.

"He seemed pretty nervous, go easy on him" he said with a laugh; "I gotta go, I'll see you guys tomorrow"

"Bye Sam" Nicole said standing up.

I stood up next to her; "Thanks Sam!"

"Um...they're coming" Nicole whispered, looking over her shoulder.

"So what are you doing tonight?" I asked, trying to make small talk so we wouldn't look obvious.

Nicole caught on; "Nothing, probably going to sleep early I have -"

"Hey guys" Brian said walking up to us with Donnie and Mike behind him.

"Uh...hey" Nicole said turning to him; "What's up?"

"Nothing. Hi Kelly"

"Hey" I said turning towards him quickly and turned back around.

"Good practice" Nicole commented, looking behind Brian at Donnie. Donnie rolled his eyes and continued talking with Mike.

"Yeah, it was...interesting" Brian said shrugging his shoulders; "We haven't seen you guys in a while, how was your summer?"

"Same old same old, nothing too exciting. You?"

"Practice" he said smiling; "You guys wanna go get a bite to eat with us?"

"Um..." Nicole said nervously and nudged me.

"Have you not heard what's been said about us?" I spoke up. Donnie and Mike stopped talking, and we all turned to Donnie; "Why did you tell people I slept with Brian, and not you?"

"Um..." Donnie started; "Can we talk somewhere else?"

"Where?"

"My car"

"Don't you think you guys spent enough time in a car?" Nicole asked glaring at him.

"What is going on here?" Brian asked confused; "I have no idea what you guys are talking about"

"Your friend Donnie over here slept with me-"

"Yes I know, it was my car" Brian interrupted me.

"Yeah well then he told everyone that it was you and I who slept together"

"What?" Brian asked shocked and turned to Donnie; "You told everyone I slept with her?"

"Look, your blowing it way out of proportion" Donnie said shaking his head.

"The whole school thinks I'm an easy lay because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. I thought you southern boys were supposed to respect women"

"I do" Donnie said looking at me; "I didn't tell the whole school, I only told you guys and..."

"Who else did you tell?" Nicole demanded; "Who"

"I told Boobie"

"So you basically told the whole school" Nicole smirked; "Good job"

"But that doesn't explain why people think it was me then?" Brian asked.

We all glared at Donnie; "I was joking" he said calmly.

"What?" I asked; "Joking about what?"

"When I told Boobie that we slept together, he told me he saw you get out of Chavo's car too, and before I could tell him that it was me, he started telling me I got sloppy seconds. He kinda ran with it after that"

"Niiiiice" Brian said laughing.

"See. It was just a misunderstanding" Donnie said shrugging his shoulders; "That's all"

"Just a misunderstanding" Brian repeated sarcastically; "That's all"

"You have some damage control to do tomorrow, that's all I have to say" I said looking at him.

Donnie nodded his head; "Sorry Kelly. Sorry Chavez" he said looking over at him

"It's alright" he said, still laughing; "It's kind of funny. Kind of"

"I'll set everyone straight tomorrow if they ask" Donnie said.

"So we're alright?" Nicole asked laughing; "We're all cool?"

"Yeah, I guess" I said nodding my head.

"So are you guys gonna come hang out with us?" Mike, who had been quiet the whole time we were talking, asked.

"I want you to come" Donnie said elbowing me.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Buddy's Burgers" he replied; "Have you ever been there?"

"No. But yeah, I'll go" I said looking at Nicole; "Your coming right?"

"Yeah, I'll go" she replied.

"Ride with me?" Donnie asked.

I sighed; "Yeah. I guess. We'll meet you guys over there"

"Keep it in your pants Don" Chavez said, jokingly punching Donnie in his arm as we turned to walk to his car.

* * *

Donnie and I walked over to his car together in silence. When we got to his car he opened the back door and threw his duffle bag and book bag in the back seat. I walked around to the passenger side and waited while Donnie unlocked his door. He was about to get in when I cleared my throat and looked down at the handle of my door; "Seriously?" he asked with a laugh and walked over to me.

"Seriously" I said with a smirk when he opened the door for me; "Thank you"

"Your welcome Ms. Kelly" he said and shut the door shaking his head.

I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves while Donnie went around the back of the car, then got in the driver seat. He started the car and looked at me; "Ready?"

I nodded; "So.....how was your summer?" I asked, trying to make small talk.

"It was alright. Busy once football practice started you know? How was yours?"

"Boring"

"Are you getting used to Texas?"

"No, and I don't think I ever will" It was quiet in Donnie's car as he drove out of the parking lot, then followed Brian's car downtown. I can't explain the feeling I had as I stared at his car in front of us. Part of me was mad for putting myself in that situation with Donnie, but part of me was hoping that by the end of the night Donnie and I were together again.

"Did you see me throw that guy to the ground at practice?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah. Who was that?"

"Payne, he's a a linebacker" I nodded; "Well that was for you"

"For me?"

"When he saw you at practice he asked if I was going to let Chavo fuck my girl again tonight. So I handled it"

"Thank you. I guess" I said laughing; "But just so you know from now on I'm gonna say it was you, and I'm going to go into graphic detail and be proud of it"

Donnie laughed; "Me too"

"Wait" I said turning to him confused; "'My girl'?" I quoted looking at him.

Donnie blushed and turned on his blinker as we sat in traffic outside Buddy's Burgers. I didn't press the issue, I just smiled back at him when he turned to me with a big smile on his face.

* * *

Donnie and I met up with Nicole at one of the tables when we arrived; "Where are the guys?" Donnie asked looking around, the place was really crowded.

"Ordering, they wanted me to grab a table before they all got taken"

"Oh Ok. What do you want?" Donnie asked turning to me.

"Just get me whatever your getting"

"Okay I'll be right back" he walked off towards the line as I sat down across from Nicole.

"You seem to be getting along well" Nicole said after he was out of ear shot.

"I know" I said, smiling; "You know how he shoved that guy to the ground at practice?"

"That was pretty funny"

"Yeah well he said he did that because the guy said something about him letting Chavez sleep with 'his girl'"

"Your his girl now?"

"I don't know" I said, unable to control the smile no my face; "I sorta want to be but...I don't know"

"What do you mean?"

"Well yeah he's cute and amazing but he had sex with me one night and then didn't talk to me again all summer"

"Yeah...just wait and see what happens. You can tell he likes you though"

"I'm going to leave my options open from now on. But what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, who do you like? I think I need to know"

Nicole looked around then leaned across the table; "Mike"

"Really?" I asked surprised; "Really?"

She laughed; "Shhh don't say anything"

"Does he know?"

"I don' t know, he took me to fall formal last year and it was a big ordeal"

"Oh when Walter went out of town?"

"Yeah he had to go to his grandmother's funeral the day before the dance so Mike asked me because we both didn't have dates. Walter found out and he was pissed"

"Well Walter isn't the picture anymore"

"Thank goodness"

"Yeah, so we'll have to work on you and Mike"

"Kelly no! Don't say anything! Seriously. I don't want it to be a big deal. Especially during the season"

"I won't say anything. I promise" I said shaking my head; "Oh here he comes...I mean here they come" I said and winked at her.

"Kelly" Nicole said sternly, looking at me; "Seriously"

"Okay. I heard you. Geez"

Brian and Mike sat down at the table and Mike handed Nicole the food she ordered; "Donnie is next in line" he said looking at me and unwrapped his burger.

"Alright. You guys can eat, you don't have to wait for me" Brian and Mike dug into their food, replacing all the carbohydrates and calories they burned at football practice; "I wanna ask you guys something before he comes back though"

"Shoot" Brian said wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Okay. Honestly, has Donnie been with as many girls as everyone says he has?"

"I can't believe your asking them" Nicole said under her breath.

Brian and Mike looked at each other then back at me; "A few" Mike answered.

"I don't know how many of them he's actually...you know..." Brian added nodding his head.

"Slept with?" I asked.

"Yeah"

"Good to know. Here he comes" I said looking up, over Nicole and Mike's heads; "Don't tell him I asked you that"

"Don't tell him we told you" Brian said laughing; "He'd kill us"

"What did you get me?" I asked when Donnie sat down on the other side of me.

"California burger" he replied placing a burger, fries, and soda in front of me.

"Thanks" I smiled at him; "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it"

"Awww you guys are SO cute" Brian teased from across the table; "I'm gonna throw up"

"Hey you can't throw up from cuteness in less they are an actual couple" Nicole added.

I glared at her from across the table. Did she just say that? Did she just give Donnie an open invitation to be my boyfriend? I wanted to kill her. I wanted to thank her. I was so confused. I looked over at Donnie who was just smiling. I smiled back and kept eating. I wanted to say something about Nicole and Mike but a promise was a promise.

Donnie took a mini bottle of vodka out of his jean vest pocket and unscrewed the top; "You want some Kelly?" he asked as he poured some into his soda discretely.

"Yeah. Just a little" I said and handed him my cup, and he handed me his and I took a sip.

"You guys are gonna get caught" Nicole said shaking her head.

"By who?" Donnie asked taking a sip from his cup, then put the bottle back in his pocket.

"Are you guys coming to the game on Friday?" Mike asked.

"Definitely" Nicole answered; "Kelly are you coming?"

"Probably"

"Hey Donnie!" Bridgitte, the girl Nicole and I had a run in at practice earlier, said cheerfully as she stood at the end of our table smiling at Donnie; "What are you doing?"

"I'm...eating" he replied, then took a sip from him soda; "What are you doing?"

"Oh I'm here with a few friends, I just wanted to invite you to my party I'm having Friday night after the game. You guys can come too" she said looking around the table at the rest of us, but her smiled faded when she looked at me; "Hi Kristina"

"It's Kelly, actually" I corrected; "Close though!"

"Will I see you there?" she asked Donnie.

"We usually go to Nick's parties" Brian answered .

"Yeah I have plans" Donnie added; "Sorry"

"Oh well...can I wear your away jersey to the game then?"

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, looking at Nicole.

"I don't think I'm giving my jersey out for games this year"

"Oh. Why not?" Donnie just shrugged his shoulders and kept eating his burger. Bridgitte looked crushed; "Okay..well I'll see you guys later then I guess"

"See ya Brittany" I said waving at her, calling her the wrong name on purpose; Bridgitte turned and walked back to her friend's table without saying another word.

"Does that happen a lot?" I asked after she left.

"It's tradition. We let girls wear our away jersey's when we play home games, and out home jersey's when we have away games" Mike explained.

"I use to wear Walter's all the time" Nicole added.

"Oh yeah, but you two broke up right?" I asked, emphasizing my words and looking back and forth between Nicole and Mike as I spoke; "So you don't wear anyone's jerseys to the games now right?"

"Yes. That's right. Kelly" she said through clenched teeth.

"You should wear-" I started but Nicole interrupted me by getting up from the table and getting a refill of her soda.

"Sorry Mike" I said, laughing, after she left; "I had to get her back"

"It's okay" he said shaking his head.

* * *

We sat at Buddy's Burgers eating and talking for another hour or so. It was getting late so we decided to head home. I got my messenger bag out of Nicole's truck and had Donnie gave me a ride home; "Thanks for the ride Donnie" I said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"It's no problem. It's on the way"

"So do you actually play at the football games or are you second string or a bench warmer?"

"No, I actually play!"

"What position?"

"Tailback, the season opening this year will be my first game as a starter"

"That's awesome. How long have you been playing?"

"Middle school. I was a starter on varsity my freshman year"

"So your pretty good?"

Donnie shrugged his shoulders; "I'm alright. Have you ever dated a football player before?"

"Uh...no. Why?"

"Just wondering if you even understand what I'm talking about"

"I don't have to date someone to know about football. I have a twin brother and we watch football together all the time"

"What's your favorite team?"

"The New York Giants of course" The rest of the ride to my house we talked about the NFL and how Donnie was "sorry" that I came from the same state as the New York Giants. "Well thanks again for the ride" I said as Donnie pulled into my driveway.

"No problem. Anytime"

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I''ll be in class"

"Yeah and maybe you can talk to me this time"

"Sorry about all this. Let's just put it behind us and start over okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good"

"Oh, I wanted to give you something"

"Give me something?" I asked confused. Donnie took off his seatbelt and reached into the backseat and grabbed his duffle bag; "Ew that smells" I said shaking my head.

"I know" he said laughing as he dug through the bag; "I have to go home and wash everything"

"Yes. Please do"

Donnie reached into the bag and pulled out his white football jersey; "Here" he said handing it to me.

"What? Why are you giving me this?"

"I want you to wear it when you come to the game on Friday"

"But I thought you weren't giving your jersey out this year?"

"I changed my mind"

"Okay, I'll wear it"

"Wear it to school too please"

"Um...okay. Sure" I was so excited, but I was trying to play it cool. I think he could tell.

"Come one" Donnie said tossing his bag in the backseat again; "I'll walk you to the door"

I stuffed the jersey into my messenger bag and got out of his car. We walked up my walkway and stood on the front stoop looking at each other awkwardly; "Thanks for the food, I'll buy next time we all go out" I said looking at him.

"I told you don't worry about it, I got it"

Just then the porch light flicked on and off a few times; "Kevin!" I yelled, knowing that Kevin had been waiting up for me and wanted to embarrass me; "Kevin! Knock it off!"

Donnie laughed; "I better go"

"Alright"

Donnie leaned over and gave me one single soft, gentle, kiss on the lips; "See ya tomorrow"


	8. The Boys In Black

Chapter 8

The Boys In Black

August 26th, 1988

Boobie, Brian, and Donnie all made sure they set the record straight on what had happened over the summer, and the rumors and talking behind my back ended. Donnie and I have been talking a lot the past week, and he walked me to class and gave me rides home if we all hung out together after practices. We haven't spoken about what went on between us, and he hasn't kissed me goodnight again either.

Nicole picked me up for school Friday morning early to make sure we would have a good seat at the pep rally; "Where's Donnie's jersey?" she asked when I got into her truck.

"Yeah good morning too" I said sarcastically.

"Good morning. Did you forget the jersey?"

"No, it's in my bag" I said, putting on my seat belt; "Why?"

Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled out of my driveway; "You know it's just tradition around here to wear a Permian t-shirt, or a jersey, or something black on Friday's to show support, even the teachers will be wearing black today"

"I didn't say I wasn't going to wear it" I said pulling it out of my messenger bag; "I'm just...waiting"

"Waiting? For what?"

"To get to the school! Is that alright?" I said laughing; "Geez, it's not that big of a deal"

"Well it is a big deal, your gonna get a lot of looks today"

"Yeah, like I'm not used to that by now"

Nicole shook her head; "No, it's because your wearing Donnie's jersey, pretty much all of the girls are going to hate you today"

"Good. I don't care. I'm done with the drama this school has to offer"

When we got to the high school I was amazed at what I saw in the parking lot! Kids were everywhere, and all you saw was a sea of black and white, not one of the two thousand students in the student body wore any other color. The majorettes (or cheerleaders as we called them back home), and the pepettes (or spirit squad, which we didn't have back home) were already out in full force trying to hype everyone up more than they already were. There was graffiti written on car windows, "Goin' To State in eighty-eight", "Go Panthers" and "D-Fence" graced the windows in white paint, there were even black and white streamers and balloons outside the school; "This is crazy" I said getting out of Nicole's truck.

"It's amazing isn't it?" she asked taking her book bag out of the bed of the truck; "Put that jersey on, and quick" she said looking at my bright blue t-shirt I was wearing; "Before someone sees you"

I pulled the jersey on over my t-shirt and tied it on the side since I practically floated in it. The white jersey with black lettering matched my tight black jeans and white tennis shoes; "How do I look?" I asked as we made our way through the parking lot.

"Hey! Look it's Donnie!" Nicole said ignoring my question and tugged on my arm. She pointed to Donnie who was trying to make his was through the crowd towards us but there were a bunch of girls trying to stop him and talk to him; "See? Everyone wants a piece of Billingsley"

I laughed; "Hey, he ain't mine"

"Yet"

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Hey guys" Donnie said finally making his way over to us.

"Hey Donnie" I smiled at him.

"I gotta get inside before the pep rally starts but I'll see you in class later alright?"

"Okay. Later"

"See ya" he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek before going inside the school.

"Oh you two are so gonna start dating" Nicole said laughing.

"Shut up" I said giving her a look.

* * *

When we got inside the school everyone immediately went to the gymnasium for the pep rally. There were rows of metal chairs with black and white helium balloons tied to them, this is where the football players sat. In front of the football players were the pepettes and the five girls on the majorette team. Nicole and I found a seat on the bleachers a few rows back and settled in for the half hour pep rally; "I'm so glad this is cutting into my algebra class" Nicole said to me as the lights dimmed.

They showed a short video on a projector of the past football season, the same one they played at the Watermelon Feed earlier in the month. After that they introduce the first string players and went over their stats - Donnie got a lot of screams from girls in the audience. Coach Gaines said a few works to close the pep rally.

"Excuse me?" someone said tapping me on my shoulder.

Nicole and I turned around to the girl sitting behind us; "Yes?" I asked looking at the attractive brunette wearing a Permian Panthers t-shirt.

"Um...I don't want to be nosey but-"

"Then don't" I said with a laugh; "I'm joking"

The girl was taken aback and looked at Nicole confused; "I just wanted to know um..."

"Yeah?" Nicole asked; "What do you want to know?"

"Are you Donnie's girlfriend?" she asked, just as the school principal dismissed the pep rally telling us to report to our first class of the morning. I stood up and put my messenger bag over my shoulder; "Are you?" she repeated.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked as Nicole and I started to walk to the end of our row of bleachers, the nosey girl followed us, walking to the end of her row.

"Well it's just that if you aren't then I was going to ask him out"

"Do whatever you want"

"Can I have his jersey?"

"What? It's not mine to give! If I was you I'd get over Donnie, that's all I'm going to say" I said and turned and walked off the bleachers with Nicole.

"So that was you shutting someone up again huh?" Nicole smirked as we walked out of the gymnasium.

"No, that was me being truthful"

"Why don't you be truthful with yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep playing it off like nothing is going on between you and Donnie"

"Nothing is going on, something did, but not anymore"

"Your blind"

"Blind?"

"Just trust me on this one okay?"

"What are you-"

"I gotta get to class" Nicole said and turned down a hallway; "See you later!"

What was Nicole talking about? I thought I was being pretty truthful with myself, I knew Donnie and I were friends and nothing more. We've all hung out this past week after school and he's driven me home but what friend wouldn't do the same? While I would love to be with Donnie again I wasn't sure if I wanted the title of "a couple" or "together", especially at Permian where Donnie was considered a god and all the girls wanted a piece of him. I walked to history class more confused than ever.

* * *

I walked into history class and saw more black and white t-shirts, I found my seat and sat down and rubbed my head, I had to stop thinking about Donnie so hard.

"You alright?" Mike, who sat across from me, asked with a sincere look on his face.

"Oh. Yeah" I said shaking my head; "Just...I have a lot on my mind"

"I know what that feels like" he said quietly.

"Sorry Mike" I sad with a little laugh; "You'll do great tonight. I know it" Sometimes I felt bad for Mike. As quarterback the whole team, the whole school, the whole town looked at him, and only him, as the one responsible to leading the team to state. He started playing junior year and had lots of responsibilities and perks playing quarterback - but the novelty of it all wore off long ago. Mike and I can sit and talk for hours if I strike the right cord inside of him - when the subject is of travel or New York City, even though he is usually quiet and shy. Mike is a great student as well as a great football player and already has a letter of interest from Brown University.

The teacher handed out a worksheet for the class to do, telling us that the answers can be found in the first chapter of our text book, and that we can parter up - It took Mike and I under ten minutes to finish it. The teacher sat in the corner of the class room at his desk reading the school newspaper, the Permian Press; "So...are we done for the day?" I asked looking around the room.

"Yep" Mike said putting his text book back in his bag; "He always does this, and then lets us do whatever we want as long as we're quiet"

"Nice" I said shaking my head; "I'm gonna go to sleep"

"I'll be here" Mike said taking his playbook out of his backpack to study with a smile on his face

* * *

When I walked into food science class later that day I didn't know what to expect the next forty-five minutes of class. I sat in my seat and waited for Donnie to walk though the door; "Hey nice jersey" some girl remarked sarcastically as she walked past my seat.

"Yeah I like it. Thanks" I said just as sarcastically.

Donnie walked in and smiled at me as he walked over to his seat; "What's up Kelly?" he said sitting down, and turned around to face me.

"Nothing. Just uh...getting lots of remarks about your jersey" I said with a laugh; "Am I allowed to wear this?"

Donnie laughed; "Yeah, you saw other girls wearing them today right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not a Pepette"

"You don't have to be. Don't worry about it. You look good in it"

"Thanks Donnie" I said, trying not to smile from ear to ear. Donnie had a hard time concentrating in school on Friday's after the pep rally's. He had a blast in school and if he learned anything this year it would be a miracle, he felt like senior year was just for two things: football and girls. He was constantly flirting with girls nothing big, mostly innocent smiles or winks but all the girls thought he was in love with them. The attention got to him and he got tired of girls all over him after a while

"So are you hanging out with us tonight?" Donnie asked raisin an eyebrow.

"Probably, what are we all doing?"

"Probably the party at Nick's"

"Won't you be tired?"

"Never too tired for a party. But we can make it an early night if I can get tired" he said and took a plastic container of cookies out of his book bag; "Want one?"

"Sure!" I said taking one; "Where did you get these?"

"My Pepette brought them for me this morning"

"Does she always do that?"

"Every Friday" he said taking a cookie out of the container; "Anyone else want one?" he asked the class then handed the container to the kid sitting next to him; "Pass these around"

"Thanks Billingsley!" the kid said and took the container.

"Are you excited? It's your first Texas football game" Donnie said after taking a bite of the cookie.

"Yeah I'm excited. Don't know what to expect though"

"It'll be fun, just try to get a seat in the stands so you can watch the game. There will be a lot of people there, so be careful"

"I'll be attached to Nicole's hip"

"Aren't you always attached to her hip?" Donnie asked laughing.

A few minutes later the kid who sat next to Donnie passed the empty plastic container back to him; "Thanks"

"No problem" Donnie said and put the container back in his book bag.

"So this your girl now or what?" the kid asked looking at me.

"You don't have to answer that" I told Donnie shaking my head.

"I know" Donnie said and turned back around in his seat glaring at the kid.

"You wanna meet up at the game tonight?" the kid asked turning to me; "We could hang out" he said then winked at me.

I was appalled at how big the balls on this kid were, to ask me out in front of Donnie while I was wearing his jersey; "No I'm good. Thanks"

"Oh come on we have four quarters to get to know each other before Billingsley walks off the field"

"She said she's good okay?" Donnie said turning to him; "Leave her alone"

The kid stared at Donnie until Donnie turned back around, then looked back at me and smiled; "I'm Jake by the way"

"Nice to meet you Jake" I said calmly; "Your an asshole"

The teacher started her lesson for the day and unfortunately rude or awkward comments and altercations happened throughout the rest of the day. School finally let out at three o'clock and Nicole and I headed back to her house to grab some food. Around six we joined the parade of cars through town all on their way to Ratliff stadium for the first game of the season.


	9. Game 1: El Paso Austin

Chapter 9

Game 1

Permian Panthers vs. El Paso Austin

Nicole and I drove through the empty town with anticipation and nerves running through our bodies; "This is crazy" I said looking at all the closed up businesses with "Gone To The Game" signs in the window; "They just leave? They just close up for the night?" I asked turning to her.

"Yep" Nicole said smiling; "Everyone goes to the games. Everyone"

"Are we going to get a seat?"

"If not we'll stand against the fence" I undid the buckle on my messenger bag and took a water bottle out; "What is that?"

"It's...orange juice" I said smiling.

"No it's not! What is it?" she asked again.

"It's orange juice" I repeated and took a sip; "Want some?"

"Do I want some orange juice with vodka in it? No. Just...hide it" she said shaking her head as we hit traffic outside the stadium.

"I am" I said and took another sip before putting it back in my bag; "It's for tonight, I don't plan on drinking at the game, I'm not that stupid"

"Good. So you are going to the party tonight then?"

"Yeah. What if they lose? Do they still go out?"

"First of all, they won't lose"

"But what if they do?"

"They still go out, they would just have to be up early for coaches meeting in the morning. But that's not going to happen"

I nodded my head and watched the parking guards direct drivers to their spots at the stadium; "I think all the cars in this parking lot are equal to all the cars in New York City"

Nicole laughed; "Let's no be dramatic" she said turning into her parking spot; "Odessa isn't that bad right?"

"No it's not that bad" I agreed taking off my seat belt; "I just miss my friends like crazy"

"You have new friends" she said with an evil smile on her face; "Right?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing"

"Nothing?"

"Come on let's go"

"What do you know?" I asked getting out of her truck; "If you know something you have to tell me"

"I don't know anything" she said taking her ticket and student ID out of her back pocket; "You have your ticket and ID?"

"Yeah" I said showing them to her; "You have to tell me if you know something"

"Are you going to bother me the whole game if I don't tell you?"

"Yes" I said matter-of-factly.

Nicole sighed as we walked up to the back of the line to be admitted inside the stadium; "Donnie..." she trailed off.

"Yeah? Donnie what? Is hot? Yeah I know that" I interrupted.

"Donnie wants to..."

"Wants to what? Sleep with me again?"

Nicole laughed; "Stop interrupting me!"

"Sorry. Donnie wants to what?"

"Brian told me Donnie wants to ask you out"

"Ask me out? Like on a date?"

"Yeah, on a real date, just you two"

"Oh" I said smiling; "Why is that a secret?"

"Well..." Nicole said handing the attendant her ticket and ID; "He hasn't yet" she said turning back to me; "So it's a secret"

* * *

While Nicole and I were finding seats in the crowded stands Donnie, and the rest of the football team were getting ready in the locker room; "You nervous?" Brian asked patting Donnie's back.

"No. I'm alright" Donnie replied quietly, then looked over his shoulder at Ivory Christian, throwing up into a trash can; "I think he's nervous"

Brian laughed; "As always" Brian was suited up for the game but wouldn't be playing tonight because of an ankle injury that happened two days ago at practice - coaches and doctors only predict he'll miss the first game.

Meanwhile Mike sat quiet in the corner, still studying the playbook, his right leg tapping against the ground nervously. Mike always wishes he could be knocked out the last five minutes before a game so he wouldn't have to dwell on the wait,

Boobie wasn't even in the stadium tonight - he was at home recovering from knee surgery that he had yesterday. Everyone was worried about him, and felt sorry for him but everyone was more worried that the dream of going to state was dead. Chris Comer, who played on the junior varsity team up until a few days ago will be playing his first Permian varsity game tonight, at fullback.

The team took a knee and looked up at Coach Gaines for his pre-game speech. They looked at him intensely and focused in on his eyes, taking in every word he said. Assistant Coach Tam Hollingshead was there, so was Running Back Coach Mike Belew, and three other assistant coaches. The team doctor Weldon Butler was on stand by but he dreaded the moment a player came through the locker room doors with an injury. After Coach Gaines was done addressing the players, he and the rest of the coaching staff left the locker room so the team captains could say a few words - then it was time for kickoff.

* * *

Nicole and I settled into our seats for the game. The moment I sat down and looked around that stadium I was in love. All the drama of the past week in school, all the pain of moving from New York City and all the confusion between Donnie and I seemed to be erased from my mind. It was still warm out but the sun had set so a chill came over me; "You okay?" Nicole yelled in my ear, over the screams from the fans; "You look sick"

"No, I'm just taking in the beauty"

"I told you"

"Told me what?"

Nicole nodded her head up in the sky over my shoulder at the metal structure holding the stadium lights; "It's the Friday night fix" she said smiling.

* * *

It was finally time for kickoff. The Panthers left the locker room and gathered behind a huge black and white banner that the cheerleaders made, and had stretched across half the end zone. We couldn't see them yet but we could hear them jump up and down, screaming, and pumping each other up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your hometown heroes the Permian Panthers" boomed across the stadium loudspeaker and the boys in black came running out onto the field. All eight thousand people in the stands that night were on their feet, screaming, and waving white handkerchiefs going crazy. The three team captains, Mike, Brian, and Ivory joined hands and walked onto the field for the coin-toss, which Permian won.

Brian Johson kicked off the season with a fifteen yard run, reaching the Permian forty seven yard line. Two quick passes from Mike to Llyod Hill gave us a first down at the ten yard line. The crowd was on their feet the whole time. I was even on my feet the whole time, watching number twenty-six.

On the next play Mike passed the ball to Donnie, he caught it but then the ball popped out of his hands - he scrambled to the ground on his hands and knees reaching for it but Austin recovered.

"Shit" I said shaking my head.

"Nothing like his father" I heard from behind me and turned around, the man looked at me as he spoke; "I bet Charlie isn't even watching the game anymore"

"It was one play" I said crossing my arms; "Give him a break"

"One play? One play?" the old man yelled angrily, I must have struck a nerve.

"Kelly just...let him go. It's not worth it" Nicole said tugging on my arm.

"Asshole" I said under my breath and turned back around.

Austin went four downs without scoring a touchdown, and Permian had the ball again at the forty seven yard line. Mike threw a shaky pass that somehow made it into Robert Browns' hands on the left sideline and he ran it in for the first touchdown of the season.

Donnie fumbled the ball two more times, and two more times I received negative comments from people sitting around me. Permian scored two more touchdowns before half time bringing the score to twenty-one, zero.

"Having a good time?" Nicole asked me at half time as the school band took the field; "Sorry about Donnie"

"Yeah that sucks. Does he always play like that?" I asked with a laugh.

"Well you saw him at practice, he can never hang onto the ball"

"He's probably nervous too"

"So your all set for Nick's party tonight then?"

"I didn't buy anything but yeah I'm ready. Just promise me you won't let what happened last time happen again okay?"

"Are you sure?" Nicole knew me too well; "I will if you want but, I have no control over what happens when we drink" she said with a laugh.

"If that's the case we should hang out with Mike tonight"

"Shhh" Nicole said putting her finger over her mouth; "Keep it down" I looked around at the people sitting next to us; "Besides, he probably won't come out anyway, it will probably just be Bryan and Donnie"

"Well if he comes....I think tonight should be your night" I said laughing.

* * *

On the next Permian play Donnie took the handoff from Mike on the forty one yard line. He had no one in front of him on the right side line but slipped over his own feet and fumbled the ball again. I held my head in my hands for a few minutes waiting for the insults to come but no one said anything. Austin had been playing horribly and everyone figured we had the game in the bag.

Chris Comer played the entire second half and made some very impressive plays, Nicole and I heard 'The next Boobie' come out of people's mouths left and right. Mike threw his fourth touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter tying a Permian record for the most touchdown in a single game. The final score was forty-nine to zero.

* * *

Nicole and I celebrated in the stands for a while, no one was moving off the bleachers and into the parking lot any time soon. Eventually Nicole and I decided it was time to go and pushed our way through the crowds. We found a spot at the fence that separated fans from the path the players walked to get on the bus back to the high school; "Did they come out yet?" Nicole asked a girl standing next to us.

"No. He didn't" she replied; "I mean no they didn't"

Nicole laughed; "Okay. Thanks" We stood there for a few minutes waiting when finally the locker room doors flew open and a few members from the team walked out. They were changed back into street clothes and carrying their duffle bags. Mike walked out first and everyone screamed for him, he smiled politely and made his way onto the bus; "Here comes Donnie" Nicole said elbowing me.

"I know" I said and stared at him and smiled, hoping he would notice me in the crowd.

Donnie walked over to the fence and walked along it smiling and saying hello to everyone; "Oh hey you" he said when he noticed me.

"Good game Donnie"

He rolled his eyes, ignoring my comment; "I'll meet you outside the field house at the school okay?" I nodded my head and turned and walked away with Nicole.

"Now to find my car..." Nicole said as we looked at the parking lot that was filled with excited fans, cars, security and more excited fans; "This should be fun"

* * *

When we got back to the school we parked and waited for a few minutes for the bus to pull upl; "They get a police escort but there a million people between here and the stadium" Nicole said pulling a Permian Panthers sweatshirt on over her t-shirt; "Are you cold?"

"Yeah but...I'll be fine"

"So you had fun at your first game?"

"Oh my goodness I loved it!"

"Really? If you hated it you can tell me, I won't be offended"

"No, I loved it. Seriously. Is there one next week?"

"Yeah it's away though, at Midland Lee. They are our rivals"

"Can we go to away games?"

"If you give me gas money"

"Deal" I said laughing; "Oh there's the bus"

We got out of her truck and walked over to the field house. The team was inside for about twenty minutes before they finally came out. Donnie, Brian, and Mike walked out together and came over to us; "Ready?" Brian asked looking at Nicole and I.

"Ready. Does anyone need a ride?" Nicole asked taking her car keys out of her pocket.

"I do" Mike spoke up.

"Oh your coming out tonight?" I asked, trying so hard not to crack up.

"Yeah. For a little bit"

"You can ride with me if you need a ride" Nicole offered with shaky words, I could tell she was nervous.

"Alright" he replied just as nervously.

"Your coming with me right?" Donnie asked; "I have to drive my dad back to the house so I can have the car tonight though"

"Um..." I asked looking at Nicole. Mike was walking next to her now in the direction of her truck; "Yeah. I'll go with you, I just need to get my bag out of her truck" Donnie reached over and grabbed my hand and we walked hand in hand to Nicole's truck.

"I'll just drive by myself" Brian joked.

"Sucks to be you Chavo" Donnie remarked.

We walked to Nicole's truck and I grabbed my messenger bag off the passenger seat; "So we'll meet you guys over there" I said putting it over my shoulder as Mike got in Nicole's truck.

"Okay" Nicole said smiling at me, we looked at each other and knew what each other was was saying, it was so hard for me to not laugh at that very moment.

"Come on" Donnie said taking my hand again; "Later guys" Donnie yelled over his shoulder.

"Later Donnie" Chavez yelled then ran off to his own car.

"Sorry" he said looking at me as we approached his car.

"For what?"

"For whatever my dad is about to say"

"Oh" I said remembering what Nicole has told me about Charlie. Donnie's parents divorced when he was three and he lived with his mom in Oklahoma. Sophomore year he decided to live with Charlie in Odessa and play football. Living with Charlie was like living with a younger brother, staying up late and doing whatever he wanted. Charlie would often go on drinking binges and he went to rehab the spring of junior year while Donnie stayed with his grandparents; "It's alright, don't worry about it"

"Hey Dad" Donnie said when we got to his car, Donnie was sitting on the hood staring straight out into nothing; "Give me the keys"

"What?"

"Give me the keys"

Charlie sat up and tossed Donnie the keys; "Good game" he said sarcastically; "Still can't hold onto the ball huh?

"Yeah. Sorry dad"

"It's alright, I knew that would happen tonight" Charlie looked over at me, then looked me up and down; "Who's this?"

"Kelly she's my...friend" Donnie answered.

"Cute" Charlie replied and got off the hood of the car and walked over to the passenger side; "Can't hold onto a woman any more than you can hold onto a ball huh?"

Donnie looked over at me; "He's drunk...I'm, I'm sorry"

I laughed; "Donnie it's alright. Trust me"

"I just have to drop him off at the house then it's me and you" he said and leaned down and kissed me; "Okay?"

I smiled up at him; "Okay"


	10. Make Outs And Sleep Overs

Chapter 10

Make Outs And Sleep Overs

The drive to Donnie's house was a little awkward. I sat in the back seat playing with the lose thread on my messenger bag nervously. Charlie sat in the front seat next to Donnie slurring his words, telling Donnie how it felt to win state; "You'll never know how that feels" he smirked. I wanted to say something but I just played with more lose thread and bit my tongue.

Donnie pulled into the driveway and turned off the car; "I'm just gonna change my shirt" Donnie said turning to me; "Wait here?"

"Okay" I said nodding my head.

"It was nice meeting you Heather" Charlie said, opening his door.

"Her name is Kelly" Donnie corrected getting out of car.

"Whatever" Charlie said under his breath and stumbled to the front door. I watched the two of them go inside then I got out and sat upfront. I took a sip of the vodka and orange juice from the bottle in my bag then checked my make up in my mirror.

Donnie came back out a few minutes later, he changed from his Led Zeppelin t-shirt into a Permian Panther's one; "Ready?" he asked putting his seat belt on.

"Ready" I replied, as I got another chill, and shivered; "It's getting cold"

"Do you want me to grab you a sweatshirt?"

"No, that's okay. Besides I'd float in it, like I am your jersey"

"We can stop at your house if you want"

I thought for a minute; "Yeah. Let's do that"

"So you had fun at the game?"

"Yeah it was pretty fun. A lot of people were talking shit though"

"About what?"

"You"

"Me?"

"Yeah when you...fumbled the ball they were saying some stuff to me"

"Nice"

"It's alright, I shut them up don't worry"

Donnie talked my ear off about the game and how he played all the way to my house. "You want me to wait here?" Donnie asked when we got my house.

"Yeah, there aren't any lights on, everyone is probably sleeping. I'll be right back"

I ran inside and down to the basement. I changed into a comfortable Odessa High School t-shirt, brushed my hair, touched up my makeup then grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt. I ran back upstairs and into the kitchen; "Where are you going?" my mother asked. I didn't see her at first sitting at the kitchen table eating a sandwich.

"Oh. Hi mom" I said opening the fridge.

"Where are you going?" she repeated.

"A party"

"It's late" she said looking at the clock.

"Yeah, well we were at the game. We won! We shut them out!"

"I heard" my mom said nodding towards her radio.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired from work. I'm going to bed soon"

"Okay well, I'll be back in the morning. I'll probably crash at Nicole's or something"

"That's fine, just be careful" she said smiling; "What's that?" she asked looking at the jersey.

"Oh it's uh...Donnie's jersey. I wore it to the game"

My mom gave me "that look"; "Who's Donnie?"

"Donnie Billingsley, sorry mom I gotta go, he's uh waiting for me"

"Kelly!" my mom said stopping me just as I reached the doorknob.

"Yeah?" I asked turning back around.

"Give me it"

"Give you what?"

"You know" she said eyeing my messenger bag.

"I don't have anything"

"You want to go drive around with a guy I don't know, you'll hand it over"

I sighed and reached into my messenger bag and handed over the water bottle of vodka and orange juice; "Goodnight mom"

"Don't make me worry"

"You don't have to worry. I love you mom"

"I love you too. Goodnight"

* * *

When Donnie and I got to the party at Nick's house we walked into the house hand in hand; "Do you want to look for Nicole first?" I asked as we walked through the living room.

"Let's get a drink" We walked into the kitchen and Donnie grabbed two beers out of a case that was sitting on the counter; "Here you go"

"Uh you know, I don't really want to get drunk tonight"

"Oh" Donnie said looking at the two cans of beer; "Just have one then"

I laughed and took the beer; "Alright"

Donnie opened his beer and took a long swig then burped; "Come on let's go find people"

We walked around the house together talking to people. Donnie talked to his teammates and other girls while I stood next to him awkwardly sipping on my beer. I got lots of dirty looks, and everyone asked Donnie if I was "his girl". "I'm gonna go find Nicole" I said to Donnie as he and Brian stood in the kitchen about to do a keg stand; "I'll be back"

"Alright" Donnie said kissing me on the cheek before I left.

I walked through the kitchen, dinning room, and living room trying to find Nicole. There were empty beer cans and party cups everywhere and the music was so loud I could barely hear myself think. I wasn't in very much of a party mood that night. I ran into Gina, the girl I had an altercation with at practice and asked her if she had seen Nicole; "Her and Mike were sitting outside last time I saw her"

"Outside? Where?" I asked her looking around the living room.

"Out back, on the porch" she said looking towards the back patio door.

"Thanks Gina"

"Oh wait" she said stopping me.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Donnie?"

"Um...him and Chavez are in the kitchen drinking. Why?"

"Just wondering" she said smiling at me.

"Okay. Well, thanks" I said laughing and turned around, moving towards the patio door to find Nicole and Mike.

"Hey Kelly!" Jake, the kid from food science class, said walking in front of me.

"Hey Jake, uh can you just give me a minute, I'll come back and talk to you okay?" I asked, frustrated and pushed past him to the door.

"I'll be waiting!" he yelled.

"I'm sure you will" I said under my breath and opened the patio door. It was dark outside and I couldn't see anything; "Nicole?" I yelled. No answer. I looked on the wall for a light switch and flicked on the outside light.

"Hey!" I heard Nicole yell.

I looked back outside and saw Nicole and Mike standing in the middle of the patio in each other's arms. They both looked over at me with surprised and slightly annoyed looks; "Uh...sorry" I said flicking the light back off; "Were you two...uh...yeah sorry. Sorry Mike!"

"Kelly?" Nicole asked out from the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Shut the door"

"Yeah. Gotcha" I said and shut the door laughing to myself.

"What's so funny?" Jake asked coming up to me again.

"Um...nothing. I saw...a squirrel"

"A squirrel?"

"Yeah. You know, I'm from the city I don't see them...in....Texas" I stuttered; "Let's get away from this big window" I said and walked back towards the kitchen.

"So were you at the game?" Jake asked, following me.

"Yep"

"I didn't see you"

"I was in the stands" I walked into the kitchen and looked over at Donnie who was holding somebody's leg, assisting in a keg stand.

Jake looked over at Donnie; "Are you here with him?"

"I came here with him"

"So your here by yourself"

"Sure" I replied, getting sort of freaked out by this Jake guy. He looked half way decent but he acted clingy and obsessive; "Where's your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend"

"Oh, well why don't you go find one? I'm sorta...busy"

"Your standing in the kitchen"

"Yeah, I'm waiting for someone. I'm meeting someone in the kitchen. Against this counter" I was using all of my great bullshitting skills all in one night tonight.

Jake laughed; "You don't really expect me to buy that do you?"

"Whatever Jake" I said and walked over towards Donnie, he was drinking another beer and talking with some guys.

"You alright?" he asked putting his arm around me. I put my arm around his waist and moved my eyes towards Jake who was now standing on the other side of me; "Hey why don't you get out of here?" Donnie asked looking at Jake.

"What?"

"You heard me" I stood there awkwardly.

"You gonna make me?"

"Hold this" Donnie said handing me his beer; "What did you say?" he asked getting in Jake's face.

"I said are you going to make me?" Jake repeated.

Donnie threw a punch at Jake but Jake moved out of the way quickly and smiled at Donnie; "I'll see you later Kelly" he said and winked at me before walking out of the kitchen.

"Thanks" I said handing Donnie his beer; "You tried"

"Yeah. Asshole"

"So um...guess what?"

"What?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Calm down"

"Sorry" he said shaking his head; "I hate people"

"Well anyway, I sorta caught Mike and Nicole making out outside"

"Who?" Brian asked butting into our conversation when he walked into the kitchen.

"Um...Mike and Nicole"

"No way!" he said surprised; "Are you sure?"

"Very sure"

"Way to go Winchell" Brian said giving Donnie a high five.

"Yeah, now we just have to get you a girl" Donnie said to Brian.

I blushed and looked at Brian; "He said it, not me"

Brian shook his head; "I'll see you guys later" he said and grabbed a beer before going out to the living room.

"Your not having fun are you?" Donnie asked me.

"I'm just not really in the mood to drink or anything"

"Are you tired?"

"Kind of"

"You wanna get out of here?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"My house?" he asked smiling at me.

I thought for a minute, then gave in; "Okay. Let's go"

"You sure?" Donnie teased. We started to walk out of the kitchen when I caught eyes with Jake who was watching us; "Come here" I said quickly and grabbed Donnie and started making out with him.

He kissed me back then saw Jake out of the corner of his eye and started kissing me harder. Donnie flipped him the middle finger and before I knew it Jake came walking angrily into the kitchen.

"Hey! Hey asshole!" Jake yelled trying to get Donnie's attention. A few people started gathering around us, they knew Donnie and knew what was about to happen.

Donnie and I kept kissing until Jake leaned over and slapped my ass; "What the fuck" I yelled and slapped Jake across the face.

"Your gonna die" Donnie yelled and tackled Jake to the ground and started fighting him.

"Billingsley! Billingsley!" people started yelling while I just stood there watching.

Brian ran into the room, knowing exactly what was going on, and pulled Donnie off Jake and up off the floor; "What the hell is going on"

"Nothing" Donnie said wiping the blood off his split lip with the back of his hand.

"Nothing?" Brian asked looking at me.

"Jake slapped my ass" I explained calmly.

Brian bent down next to Jake; "You alright?" he asked sincerly. Jake looked up at him, breathing heavily and nodded his head; "Too bad" Brian said and punched him again.

"Brian!" I yelled surprised.

"That's what I'm talking about Chavo" Donnie yelled while the group of people who gathered to watch started laughing.

"Look at me" I said looking at Donnie's lip; "Your bleeding"

"For you" Donnie said smiling at me.

I rolled my eyes; "Can we go now?"

"Yeah let's go" Donnie said my hand.

"Where are you guys going?" Brian asked, walking through the living room wish us.

"Over to my house"

Brian raised an eyebrow; "Again?"

Donnie and I looked at each other; "No, we're actually going to GO to the house this time" I said laughing.

"Where's Mike?" Brian asked; "And Nicole?"

"Last time I saw them making out on the patio. Make sure she gets home okay?" I asked.

"No problem. See you guys later" Brian said and walked back into the crowd of people in the living room.

* * *

"How are we going to do this?" I asked as Donnie and I sat on the street outside his house in the car; "Do you have to sneak me in?"

"Yeah" Donnie replied shaking his head; "Okay here's the plan. Your gonna go over here" Donnie explained pointing to the left side of his house; "There is a back door around the corner. Wait there, I'll let you in after I scope out where my dad is and if he's passed out or not"

"Okay. Sounds good"

"Take off your shoes and leave them on the back porch"

I nodded my head and threw my messenger bag in the back seat; "Ready?"

Donnie leaned over and kissed me; "What was that for?" I asked.

"If we get caught"

We both got out of the car and shut the car doors as quietly as we could. We walked up the driveway, then I ran around the back of the house and sat crouched down on the porch with my shoes off. Donnie walked into the house like normal. He took off his shoes and dropped his keys onto the kitchen counter. Donnie walked down the hallway and peered into his dad's bedroom - Charlie was passed out snoring with his girlfriend laying next to him.

Donnie opened the back door slowly and quietly, I stood up and reached my hand for Donnie in the dark; "Come on" he whispered taking my hand. I stepped into the house and Donnie shut the door behind me; "Walk very slowly, do not bump anything" he whispered; "and don't step on the cat"

I tried so hard not to burst out laughing right there. I held onto Donnie's hand as he led me through the dinning room and down a hallway to his room. He shut his bedroom door then turned on a lamp that was sitting on his dresser; "That was easy" he said quietly.

"Do we have to whisper?" I whispered to him.

Donnie nodded his head; "Let's change, we can talk in bed"

"Oh, we're sleeping together?"

"I could sleep on the floor if you -"

"I'm joking" I said smiling at him; "Do you have clothes for me to wear?"

Donnie dug through a pile of clothes on the floor then tossed me a pair of sweatpants; "This good?"

"Perfect" I said and unzipped my jeans. Donnie turned around and faced the door while I changed my pants; "You know you've seen me naked before"

"In the dark..." he replied; "Doesn't count" I unhooked my bra under my shirt and took it off through my sleeves, then threw it at Donnie.; "What is this?"

"Souvenir" I replied then sat down on his bed; "Your turn" I said and put my hands over my eyes. Donnie took off his shirt and pant and threw on a pair of shorts; "Done?"

"Done" Donnie replied then turned off the lights. We laid down in the bed together, awkwardly at first, then Donnie put his arm around me and I rested my head on his chest; "Comfortable?" he asked me.

"Yes"

"Warm?"

"Yes"

"Horny?"

"No"

"Just thought I'd ask"

I laughed; "Whatever. Um...so I wanted to ask you something..but um...you don't have to answer if you don't want to"

"Okay..."

"How many girls have you been with?"

"Do you mean slept with or been with?"

"Slept with"

"Two"

"Was I the first, or the second?"

"You were the second, but I don't think the first counts"

"Why not?"

"I didn't...."

"Finish?"

"Yeah"

"Oh"

"What about you?"

"I've been with two. You were the second"

"Did the first one count?"

I felt terrible, I didn't really want to tell the truth; "Yeah. The first one counted"

Donnie nodded his head; "Have you ever been in love?"

"No, that's one thing I haven't experienced. You?"

"Yeah, my first girlfriend"

"Aww, what happened?"

"She cheated on me"

"Nice" I said sarcastically; "Do you still talk to her or anything?"

"She moved. But that's kind of why I am the way I am. When I was with her I didn't even look at any other girls, then when she cheated on me I said screw it"

"Yeah. Makes sense"

Donnie and I talked for a few more hours until we both decided it was time to go; "I'll drive you home" Donnie said yawning.

"I guess..."

"You guess?"

"Well I did tell my mom I was going to be out all night, and that I was staying at Nicole's"

"Well I guess you can stay here"

"Do you want me to?"

"Don't ask stupid questions"

Donnie and I got comfortable again under the covers. I laid on my side and he laid next to me with his arm on my stomach; "Hey Kelly?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how all those people keep asking us if we're together?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"What do you say when they ask?"

"I avoid the question, or tell them fuck off" I said with a laugh.

"Maybe we should start saying...yes"

I smiled the biggest smile I've ever said in my entire life. The night had been perfect and Donnie just made it the best night of my life; "Yeah. I think we should" I replied.

The following morning I woke up Donnie's arms.


	11. The Letter

Chapter 11

The Letter

Donnie and I laid in his bed that morning enjoying the fact that we were together. We spent a lot of time talking, getting to know each other. We took an occasional break to kiss, or for me to massage his sore muscles from the game the night before; "So" Donnie said as I sat next to him rubbing his shoulder; "I think this should be tradition"

"What? The massage?"

Donnie nodded his head; "You spending the night"

"We'll see about that one"

"What do you mean?"

"How am I going to get that past my mom every week?"

"Tell her your going to be at Nicole's"

"Are you forgetting our mom's are sisters?"

Donnie thought for a minute; "So?"

"We'll see" I said laughing then looked at the clock on Donnie's dresser; "It's already ten? I have to get home"

"Charlie will be up soon" Donnie said getting off the bed. He threw on a pair of shoes and a random t-shirt then turned his back so I could get dressed.

I put the clothes I wore the night before back on and threw my hair up into a messy bun; "I'd love to stay with you all day"

"Trust me I would too" Donnie said pulling me into a hug; "But I have practice later and I want to get some more sleep today"

Donnie snuck me out the back door of his house and drove me home. I knew my mother was at work and Kevin was probably still sleeping. We made out in his car before he walked to me the door; "I'll call you after practice okay?"

"I'll be here"

Donnie kissed me goodbye and I stood on the porch and watched him walk to his car; "What are you looking at?" he yelled with a smile on his face.

"You!" I yelled back laughing.

When Donnie got to his car Nicole's truck pulled in the driveway next to him; "See ya later Kelly" he waved then turned to Nicole; "What are you doing here so early?"

"I'd like to ask you the same thing" she said with a smirk. Donnie just shook his head and got back into his car; "What was that about?" Nicole asked walking over to me.

"What is what about?" I asked sitting down on the steps.

Nicole looked at her watch; "It's not even noon yet, Donnie never wakes up before noon on a Saturday"

"Well..."

"Did you spend the night over there?"

"No. I spent the night at your house"

Nicole laughed; "That's pretty hard to do considering I spent the night at your house"

I tugged on Nicole's hand to sit next to me on the steps; "What happened? Didn't Brian drive you home?"

"Yeah" she said shaking her head; "Nothing happened"

"Your lying"

"No I'm not"

"Did you forget that I saw you and Mike making out last night? Come on, I know something else happened"

"Oh...yeah" Nicole said realizing I knew what was going on; "Well...."

"Yeah?"

"Um..."

"You guys made out?"

"Yeah...and"

"And? Did you guys have sex?"

Nicole smiled; "Yeah" she whispered.

"Wow" I said shaking my head; "What happened?"

"We were just making out for like an hour outside and then we went inside to get a drink and I asked him why he didn't have a girlfriend"

"What did he say"

"He said 'I don't know'"

"Then what?"

"Then we sorta just looked at each other and we walked upstairs"

"You did it in a random bedroom?"

"Well we got up there and then we both had second thoughts, he felt kind of bad. What do you mean a random bedroom? You had sex on the side of the road in Chavez's car" she reminded me.

"This isn't about me" I said laughing; "Continue"

"So we just..did it"

"How was it?"

"I'm not gonna tell you!"

"You made me tell you how it was with Donnie. Fair is fair"

"Fine" Nicole said rolling her eyes; "It was good"

"Good?"

"Really good"

I laughed; "So then what did you guys do?"

"Then Chavez drove us home. It was sort of awkward"

"So that was it? He didn't say anything or kiss you goodnight or anything?"

"No" Nicole said looking disappointed; "I don't know what that's all about"

"Well it's not like you two are strangers, your friends so he probably doesn't know what to do or say either"

"What did you and Zac do after you had sex?"

"Oh...um" I stuttered; "I came here the day after"

"I mean right after"

"We fell asleep"

Nicole sighed; "I'm trying not to think about it too much, I don't want to like fall in love with him and get rejected. He's focused on football right now anyway, I don't want to distract him"

I laughed; "I think you already distracted him"

"Whatever" she said standing up; "Are you coming with me or not?"

"Where are we going?"

"The mall, I told you I wanted to go buy a new pair of jeans"

"Oh. That was today?" I asked looking down at my clothes.

"Go shower" Nicole and laughing; "I'll wait out here"

"You don't want to come in?"

"No it's fine. I'll sit in my truck and think about last night"

"I'm sure you will" I said walking inside.

I showered and put on new clothes then grabbed a bite to eat from the kitchen. I walked back outside in time to see the mailman walking up to our mailbox that was on the porch; "Oh. Good morning" I said smiling at him.

"Good morning ma'am" he said handing me the mail.

"Thank you"

I took the mail and went back inside to put it on the table, as I threw it down onto my mom's place mat a letter fell out of my hand and onto the ground. I bent down to pick it up and noticed the return address; "Zac Butler Queens New York"

* * *

"Dude" I said opening the passenger door of Nicole's truck.

"What?" she asked looking over at me; "What's wrong?"

I got in the front seat and put my bag beside me; "I got a letter from Zac"

"What does it say?"

"I didn't open it yet"

"Well open it"

"I don't want to"

"Why not?" Nicole asked baking down my driveway.

"Because Donnie and I are together now"

"What?" Nicole asked surprised; "When did that happen?"

"Last night" I said laughing; "I went over there and we talked a lot, you know getting to know each other and stuff and then he asked me what I say every time someone asks me if him and I are together. After I told him he said 'well maybe we should start saying yes' and then yeah...so...yeah!"

"Awesome" Nicole said shaking her head; "You guys are cute together"

"Thanks. So that's why I don't want to know what Zac says"

"Well you guys are just friends, it's not like he's going to propose to you"

I glared at her; "But what if he does?"

Nicole started laughing; "Your insane. Just open it"

"Fine" I said and ripped the letter open.

"Read it to me"

"I am. Can I unfold it first?" I said laughing. I unfolded the letter then started reading it to her; _"Hey Kelly. How is Texas? Hot as hell? Are the football players assholes like you thought? Everyone over here asks about you all the time. It's not the same - we're actually going to school, can you believe it? I hope you come back to New York to visit, maybe over spring break? You can stay at my house and we can finish what we started. I miss your body. Write back soon. -Zac"_

"Make sure you burn that letter" Nicole said when I got done reading the letter.

"Why?"

"If Donnie ever finds it..."

"He won't" I said putting it in my messenger bag.

"Well if he ever finds it I'm pretty sure he'd fly to New York and have a few words for this Zac guy"

"Yeah, Donnie beat up some guy at the party last night"

"I heard about that" Nicole replied; "See? Once your will Billingsley, you don't have to worry about guys bothering you"

"Zac is a good friend though..."

"Good luck explaining that" she said rolling her eyes; "If I were you I'd just hide it"

"But then I feel like I'm lying to him"

"Do what you want, he's your boyfriend"

I smiled and blushed when Nicole said that. I didn't want to hurt Donnie but Zac was a good friend who I've known for many, many years. I couldn't be mean to either one of them; "So what do you have to buy at the mall?" I asked, stashing the letter into the bottom of my messenger bag.

* * *

The following Monday Donnie waited for me in the high school parking lot, then walked me to homeroom, giving me a kiss before he ran to his own homeroom as the bell rang. News spread quickly in the small school, almost everyone knew about Donnie and I, and a handful of people were already asking about Mike and Nicole.

Donnie met me after my health class and we walked to food science today; "Hey McDougal!" Donnie said passing his teammate in the hallway.

"Hey Billingsley" Jerrod said walking over to us; "Your going to class today?"

"It's Monday, I guess I should go, hey have you met Kelly?" Donnie asked as the three of us walked down the hallway.

"Yeah" Jerrod replied; "We met at one of Nick's parties"

"Nicole introduced us" I added; "You were complaining about the bad music right?"

"Probably" Jerrod said laughing; "Hey I'll meet you in class alright?" he said then ran ahead in the hall after one of his other friends.

Donnie and I were the last two people to get to class, we walked through the door just as the bell rang; "Nice of you love birds to join us" Mrs. Rhodes said glaring at us from her desk.

"Yeah we were gonna skip and make out in the bathroom but-" I started.

"But we figured we'd just make out here" Donnie said and grabbed me and pretended to kiss me.

The whole class started laughing but Mrs. Rhodes didn't and slapped a ruler against the desk; "Mr. Billingsley!" she yelled.

"Sorry. Couldn't help myself" Donnie said laughing, and we both sat down.

"Well if you two keep it up I will separate your desks"

"I think you should separate their desks now" Jake, the kid Donnie got into a fight with Friday night, said smiling in our direction.

"Mind your business Jake" Mrs. Rhodes said smiling at him.

"Relax. He's not worth it" I whispered in Donnie's ear.

"He's an asshole" he whispered back.

"I know. But if you get in trouble you won't be able to play. Just relax"

"Take our your notebooks please" Mrs. Rhodes ordered starting her lesson; "We are going to take notes today"

Donnie and I both leaned down to our book bags that were sitting on the floor next to our desks; "I don't have a notebook" he whispered looking over at me as he dug through his book bag for a notebook that wasn't there.

"I'll give you paper" I whispered back pulling a notebook out of my bag, when I did the letter from Zac came out too and fell onto the floor.

"Here, you dropped this" Donnie said picking it up.

"Oh thanks" I said nervously and reached for it.

"Who's Zac?" he asked sitting up in his desk.

"What?" I asked leaning forward in mine, looking over his shoulder; "No one"

"No one?" he asked; "So I can read it"

"No" I hissed. Mrs. Rhodes went over to the class room door and shut it, then turned off the lights to use the overhead projector for copying notes; "I'll tell you about it later"

Donnie ignored me and slouched down in his desk, hiding the letter from Mrs. Rhodes because if he got caught he'd never know what it said; "Let's see here" Donnie said and started reading it.

"He's my friend from New York" I whispered, while trying to look like I was copying notes at the same time.

"Friend?" he asked turning to me; "Your friend misses your body?" he hissed.

"Billingsley" Mrs. Rhodes said sternly; "I catch you one more time I'm moving your seat"

Donnie handed me the letter; "I'll explain it to you later okay?" I asked.

He nodded his head and I could tell if we were anywhere but in this quiet classroom he would be pacing pack and forth, pumping his fists and swearing up and down; "Yeah" was all he said and turned back around. He didn't say anything to me the rest of class. When the bell rang he was the first one out of the classroom and didn't wait for me or walk me to any more classes that day.

* * *

Nicole and I sat in the stands after school at another football practice. I had a feeling that everyday from now on we would be at this stadium, and that every Friday from no on we'd be at the game - home or away. It was the last week of August and it was still pretty hot out at four in the afternoon; "This is crazy" I said shaking my head.

"What?"

"It's hot out" I said laughing.

"Yeah, your in Texas Kelly"

"Shut up"

Nicole and I sat quietly in the bleachers watching the practice, both of us alone with our own problems and thoughts. Mike and Nicole hung out together on Sunday at Buddy's Burgers and talked, mostly about football and school. They kissed goodnight but they are taking things slow, Mike doesn't need any distractions or added stress during the football season. Nicole, having been with Walter last year during football season and remembering all the stress and fights that developed she agreed; "He's so handsome" she remarked, watching him practice.

I rolled my eyes; "You can't even see him from all the way up here"

"That' doesn't mean I don't know what he looks like!" Towards the end of practice Nicole and I walked down to the fence like we always do and watched the last minutes of practice from there; "Hey, Charlie keeps looking over here" Nicole said elbowing me.

"Who?" I asked looking around and caught eyes with Donnie's father; "Shit"

"Does he know you spent the night there the other day?"

"I think we're about to find out"

"Kelly?" Charlie asked coming over to me.

"Yes" I said smiling at him; "Hello Mr. Billingsley"

"Call me Charlie"

"Charlie"

"Listen I uh...wanted to ask you something" he asked looking over my shoulder and Donnie, still practicing; "Were you at my house Friday night?"

"Um...yeah, but um...just for a little bit"

Charlie laughed; "Yeah...listen if you wan to spend the night with Don just tell him to grow some balls and ask me"

"Um...okay" I said nodding my head; "I'll be sure to tell him that"

"Good. You girls have a good evening" Charlie said sarcastically and turned to walk away.

"You too Charlie" I said under my breath; "Asshole"

"Good job" Nicole joked after he left; "I guess your cover is blown"

"Yeah well I don't even know if Donnie is going to want me over there anymore"

Nicole knew what I was talking about, I told her about the letter on the way to the stadium earlier; "Sorry" she said shrugging her shoulders.

* * *

After the team got back to the field house at the high school Donnie came walking out alone and came over to me; "I have to get a ride with Chavo, my dad took the car"

"I know, I talked to him earlier"

"You did?"

"He asked me if I was over there the other night and that if you want me to spend the night you should grow some balls and just ask him"

Donnie just shrugged his shoulders; "Whatever. Well I gotta go, Chavo is waiting"

"Oh" I said looking at the ground.

"Tell me who Zac is then maybe I'll stay"

"Well..." I said, then looked behind Donnie and saw Brian, Mike, and Nicole hanging out at her truck; "Okay he's the guy that I lost my virginity too"

"That's it

"I've known him since I was a baby and we've always fooled around and-"

"Nice" he said rolling his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing"

"Look what I did before I met you shouldn't have any affect on what you think of me. It was only one guy and we only slept together once"

Donnie stared at me; "Are you going to go back to New York?

"After graduation"

"Oh"

"I might"

"You'll go back to him?"

"I was never with him. I love him and I always will no matter what because we've known each other for so long and we've been through so much together"

"You've been through a lot together? Like what?" he asked sarcastically.

"He was there the night my dad died" I replied coldly and looked at him, waiting for a response. There was none, Donnie just stared back at me; "He's a very very good friend who I just happen to have had some sexual experiences with. But I'm here now, and he's in New York that's it"

Donnie nodded his head; "Sorry"

"For what?"

"You know"

"Jumping to conclusions?"

"Yeah"

"It's alright, your a guy it's what you do"

Donnie cracked and smile then put his arm around me; "So you two aren't going to finish what you started?" Donnie asked, referring to what Zac wrote in the letter.

"Nope"

"What about the part about the football players being assholes?"

"You have to excuse me for that" I said laughing; "You guys are treated like Gods though, you have to admit you get away with murder" Donnie just shrugged his shoulders, he knew I was right.

"I just have to protect what's mine you know?" Donnie asked as we walked over to Brian, Mike and Nicole who were waiting for us.

"I know" I said as Donnie held his hand in mine; "It's alright"

"You guys done?" Brian asked as we walked up to him.

"Yeah we're cool" Donnie said smiling.

"Good, cause we're hungry, we're going to Buddy's Burgers again, come on" Brian said getting in his car. We all went out to eat, and afterwards Chavez gave Donnie and I rides home that night, while Nicole drove Mike home.

Things were starting to feel normal for me. I was falling into a routine, hanging out with new people, and actually enjoying my time in Texas. A part of me didn't want to go back to New York City...albeit a very small part.


	12. Game 2: Marshall Mavericks

Chapter 12

Game 2: Marshall Mavericks

September 2nd, 1988

The Permian Panthers chartered a Boeing 737 costing twenty thousand dollars to get to their first away game of the season. Nicole and I went to school that day, wearing Billingsley and Winchell's black home jerseys, but left after lunch (the same time the team did) to make the five hundred and thirty mile drive to the game.

The whole time we were in town that day all we heard about was a player named Odell Beckham, number thirty three, the pride of the Mavericks. He was a talented player, very quick and skilled in his position at backfield, rumor had it he was already offered a full major college scholarship.

Permian went into the game ranked fourth in the state, the Mavericks were ranked third. The game tonight wasn't a league game so the outcome had no effect on who would make it to the playoffs in the long run.

Nicole and I made our way to the stadium after grabbing a bite to eat; "Does your mom know you skipped school to go to the game?" I asked, checking my make up in the mirror.

"Yeah, she doesn't care, what about your mom?"

"She knows, and she does care. She yelled at me this morning" I said with a laugh; "You can tell we're not from here"

"Yes, we know" Nicole said shaking her head. Nicole and I were both wearing head to toe black and white. Black jeans, white tennis shoes, white t-shirts with the boy's black jersey's on over them, and even MOJO hats, we received lots of dirty looks that day as we drove through town.

We arrived at the stadium and walked proudly up to the entrance. The stadium was nothing like Ratliff stadium. It was small, and dark. The loudspeaker system squeaked and sounded ancient. The bleachers were rusty and the stadium was nearly empty; "Is this it?" I asked looking around as we waited in line, which didn't take long since only a handful of people were at the stadium.

"This stadium is horrible!" Nicole yelled when we walked inside to find a seat.

"Go back to Odessa!" a drunk high school student yelled brushing past us; "No MOJO here!" he yelled louder and threw an empty Coke cup at my back.

"Asshole! Mavericks suck!" I yelled even louder, turning around.

Everyone was staring at us and Nicole tugged on my shirt; "Come on" she hissed and pulled me into the bleachers; "Do you want to get killed"

"Whatever" I said shrugging my shoulders then looked up at the stadium lights; "Doesn't feel the same here" I remarked.

"Damn your hooked"

"What?"

"Your hooked on Texas football"

I glared at her; "Just Odessa" We sat in the bleachers, expecting the crowd to get bigger as game time approached. There were a few people from Odessa there, parents and family members of players on the team, Coach Gaine's wife was there and a few teachers too. We waited another half hour, listening to the Marshall marching band, the Mavettes; "They suck too" I smirked after they walked off the field; "Can we just start the game already so we can go home and get drunk"

"Are you serious?" Nicole asked turning to me; "Aren't you tired of hanging out until the morning hours every night?"

"Not at all, so your not going to come to the party tonight then?"

"Well we have to drive all the way home, maybe I'll just drop you off"

"Nah, you drove all the way here, if you want I can drive home"

"You have your license?"

"Yeah, I just never have to use it in New York you know?"

"Okay, cause I really want to hang out with Mike tonight"

"Then we'll hang out with Mike tonight" I said smiling; "Donnie and I haven't hung out the past few days, so I'm dying to be with him"

"Why haven't you guys hung out?"

"Mom has been on me about not being around the house much"

"Which you haven't"

"I know. I hung out with him on Tuesday after practice, that was it"

"Oh I thought you guys hung out every day"

"I wish. But with my mom being the way she is and practices it's going to be mostly on the weekends from now on. Is it alright if you cover for me? I'm going to say I'm at your house tonight okay?"

"Sounds good, I told my mom I'm going to be at Diana's"

"Who's Diana?"

"My imaginary friend"

I laughed; "I taught you well"

"So your going to stay the night at Donnie's? Does his dad know?"

"Yeah, he asked his dad, doesn't matter he'll probably be drunk and passed out by the time we get there. What are you doing?"

"I don't know Mike doesn't let anyone into his house so we can't go there, Chavez said we could crash at his house. I don't know, just as long as we can be around each other we're happy"

"You guys are just so cute" I said, half jokingly; "I don't know why you guys just don't get together if you like each other so much"

"I told you, we don't want to get serious until after the season. You wouldn't understand"

"Why wouldn't I understand? I'm with Donnie and he plays football"

"Donnie doesn't take football as seriously as Mike does. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, and he gets overwhelmed I don't want to make it any harder on him than it already is"

I looked at her with a blank expression on my face; "So you haven't had anymore sex?" I asked laughing.

Nicole blushed; "No. Come on, you know that. I would have told you"

"Oh, okay just checking. You have to keep me informed"

"What about you? You haven't kept me informed"

"We tried on Tuesday but his dad came home early, we were so close to getting caught"

"Just be careful please okay?"

"We're careful" I said laughing; "Don't worry"

* * *

When the game finally started and the Permian Panthers ran onto the field a sense of pride and love came over me. I scanned the field for number twenty-six, while Nicole looked for the number four. I knew he wasn't thinking about me at all while he played but I couldn't stop thinking about getting my hands on him after the game.

The first quarter of the game went back and forth between Permian and Marshall uneventfully. Brian was playing tight end and defensive end in his first game of the season. Permian kicked a twenty-five yard field goal, leading three to zero at the end of the quarter.

Comer, who was still playing Boobie's position due to his knee injury fumbled the ball, giving Marshall the opportunity to score on a six yard pass. The score was seven to three when both teams went to their locker rooms at half time.

* * *

The Permian locker room looked awful with worn out bodies everywhere, after playing an intense back and forth half. The small of grass hung in the air, and Brian threw up as soon as walked inside. Mike and Coach Gaines were both quiet and sat in the corner alone studying the play books.

* * *

When the Mavericks walked back onto the field after halftime, their fans gave them a standing ovation; "For what?" I asked; "They scored one touchdown. Big deal" Permian got the ball an Mike passed to Hill along the sideline, he caught the ball and ran thirty six yards, unable to get another first down, the Mavericks get the ball back.

The Mavericks fumbled on the kickoff, and to our relief, Permian recovers at the thirty seven yard line. Mike threw another pass to Hill, who played some fancy footwork and eluded his defender to score a touchdown. Permian went for the two point conversion after. Mike faked a hand off and ran to the right towards the end zone; "He's gonna make it!" I yelled and stood up to cheer Permian on with everyone else on the 'visitors' side. Mike collided with a defender at the last second an ended up short; "That's alright" I said sitting back down; "We got the lead, twelve to seven baby!"

The Mavericks got the ball on our thirty yard line, Odell took a handoff form his quarterback and cut to the left. Cornerback Wilkins was lined up to make a perfect tackle but Odell threw him to the ground with one hand. He ran down the sideline untouched before being brought down at the eight yard line. The Mavericks scored on their next play, but failed their two point conversation attempt as well. Mavericks are now up by one, score thirteen to twelve.

On the Maverick's twenty six yard line Mike threw to Johnny Celey to the left hand side, but Celey turned around to slowly to catch it. In the moments that followed, Permian fans watched at Coach Gaines lost his cool on the sidelines and grabbed Celey by the jersey to yell at him, no one has ever seen Gaines act like that before.

With over a minute left in the game and no time outs remaining Mike did his best, working the sidelines. He passed to Robert Brown for a first down, followed by an eighteen yard pass to Hill, and another for the first down. With thirty six seconds left Mike throws a perfect pass but the ball is dropped, followed by two more incomplete passes. Twenty nine seconds left. "I don't know if we're going to have a great night tonight" I remarked as Nicole and I watched the game nervously.

Marshall is then penailzed for having too many on the field, and Permian gets another down - another chance! Mike looks for Hill again who, if he catches the ball, wouldn't be stop and had a clear shot at the end zone. We all watched as the ball flew the air in a perfect spiral. But the play was ruled an incomplete pass. Permian lost their first non conference game in nine years that night; "It's alright" Nicole said as we stood up to leave the bleachers; "Eight more games this season. We'll be alright"

That night the coaches and assistants gathered at the field house to go over the film of the game. There were fifteen missed tackles two fumbles. The coaches were very disappointed with how the team performed. The team on the other hand knew in their hearts they were still going to state an that no one would every call them losers.


	13. Another Game, Another Party

Chapter 13

Another Game, Another Party

Nicole and I didn't get a chance to see Donnie or Mike after the game, they were hurried to the locker room and then rushed to the airport for their flight back to Odessa.

Nicole and I stopped at a gas station to fill up on gas and buy snacks before leaving town; "You pump, I'll pay" I said walking inside. I grabbed some soda and chips and walked to the counter to pay while everyone inside stared at me and the black Permian jersey I wore. Game highlights were still blaring on the radio from the local station; "Yeah, five dollars on pump six please" I said putting my items on the counter ignoring the negativity in the room.

"Good game" the gas station attendant said, ringing me up; "For us"

"Yeah, it was a good game. Congrats" I said handing him my money.

"Your boyfriend play football?" he asked, eyeing my jersey.

"Yes he does"

The attendant handed me my receipt; "Well make sure you give it to him good tonight so he doesn't feel so bad" he said sarcastically as he and the other employees in the gas station started laughing hysterically.

"I will" I said with a smile and walked backwards towards the door; "Don't be jealous"

"What took you so long?" Nicole asked me when I got in the driver's seat of her truck.

"Do I have a sign on my face?" I asked, handing her the soda and chips.

"What?"

"Do I have a sign on my face that says 'say anything you want to me no matter how rude or un-funny it is''?"

"Um...no" Nicole said laughing; "What happened?" I told Nicole the story of the gas station attendant while I drove out of town and headed for the highway. It was going to be a long drive back to Odessa, and we couldn't wait to get there.

* * *

We didn't get to the party that night until after midnight. The driveway and vacant lot next to the house were filled with cars. Donnie gave us the directions to this party earlier that day in school, and told us that the teammate who was throwing the party had several kegs and cases of beer already stashed in the basement. His parents were away and weren't expected back for a few days; "Do you know this kid?" I asked Nicole as we sat in the for a few minutes fixing our hair and makeup.

"Huh?" Nicole asked looking over at me, she yawned and then finally answered me; "Uh yeah, I know him. His name is Stan come on are you ready to go in?"

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked handing her the keys; "You look tired"

"I tired to sleep on the way here but I was afraid of your driving"

"We got here didn't we?" I asked walking up to the front door; "How much you wanna bet Donnie is already drunk?"

"I don't have to bet you, I know"

We walked into the house and we were immediately in the middle of a huge group of people that were dancing and drinking in the kitchen. Red party cups littered the counters and loud hip hop music was coming from the living room. We walked through the kitchen and both grabbed a beer off the counter; "Let's go find the guys" Nicole said opening hers.

We ran into Brian in the living room, who was on his way outside through the back door. I pulled on his arm and he turned around; "Hey!"

"Hey guys!" he yelled with a smile on his face, we could tell he had already been drinking; "Don is looking for you!"

"Where's Mike?" Nicole yelled; "He did come out tonight right?"

"We're all outside, come on"

Brian led us outside to a fire pit where most of the football team was hanging out. There was beer everywhere, rock music blaring from a boom box and guys doing keg stands and funnels; "Were you guys at the game?" Brian asked pulling up two lawn chairs for us.

"Yeah we were there, we just got back" I replied sitting down.

"You drove all the way there?"

"I drove there, she drove back" Nicole replied sitting down next to me; "You guys played a good game"

"Were you watching the same game I played in?" Brian asked with a laugh; "Hey I'm gonna go find Don, I'll be right back"

Nicole and I sat outside making small talk with some of the players waiting for Brian to come back. We finished our beer quickly, we both wanted to get drunk and enjoy the party tonight; "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back" Nicole said crushing her can with her foot.

"Wait" I said and chugged the rest of my beer; "Don't leave me here" We ran into Donnie before we got to the door and he picked me up with both of his hands on my ass; "Donnie!" I yelled wrapping my legs around his waist.

"Hey sexy" he said kissing my lips, then put me back down; "Where have you been?"

"We were at the game we just got back in town"

Donnie was really pumped up and tipsy, he stood in front of me with his arm around my waist; "Come on, you need another beer" he said leading me over to the beer; "Mike is looking for Nicole, he wants to get out of here"

"She just went inside"

"He's ben looking for her all night" Donnie said opening my beer then handed it to me; "Are you still coming over tonight?" he asked sitting down in one of the chairs Chavez set out for Nicole and I.

"Why wouldn't I?" I sat down on his lap and turned to him; "Your dad is still okay with it right?"

"Yeah he is, but I'm sure he'll have something to say to me when I walk in the door"

"We haven't hung out in a few days, I want to be with you" I assured him, even though I knew all he was thinking about was what his dad would say.

"Oh yeah?" Donnie asked taking a sip from his beer; "What do you want to do tonight?" he asked giving me one of his evil smiles, he knew what I was thinking about and he was loving every minute of our conversation.

"You know"

"Do I?" he asked putting his hand on my hip.

"We should finish what we started" I said leaning in and started kissing him, his hand crept up my shirt and onto my breast; "Donnie" I whispered with a smile on my face, I wanted things to go farther but not now not in someone's back yard.

"What?" he whispered back, surprised that I was stopping him.

"Not now" I said and looked at him; "Later" I said seductively and stood up; "Come on, let's have some fun"

Donnie stood up and took my hand; "But...I was..."

* * *

Donnie and I went inside and met up with Nicole and Mike who were standing against a wall talking, holding each other; "We're gonna get out of here soon" Nicole said; "You can get a ride home?"

I was a little taken aback and surprised; "Um...yeah. Where are you guys going?"

"I'll be right back" Nicole said looking at Mike, he nodded his head and let go of her; "Your going over to Donnie's right?"

"Yeah, you know that you asked me earlier"

"Oh" Nicole said laughing; "That's right"

"Are you drunk?"

"No, not yet. I only had two. Or three"

"Well your drinking them pretty fast, get home safe okay? Let Mike drive"

"I will. I think we're going to get a hotel room"

"A hotel room?" I asked even more surprised; "Why?"

"Just to hang out, we can't go anywhere else..."

"Do you have money for that?"

"I know the girl working there tonight, she should let me have a room for cheap"

"Have fun. Be careful"

"We're just going to hang out"

I laughed; "Yeah. Okay" I said and walked back over to Donnie.

"Everything okay?" he asked handing me my third beer.

"Yep" I said opening the bottle and laughed.

"I'll catch you later Billingsley" Mike said nodding at Donnie as he put his arm around Nicole's waist protectively; "Ready to go?" he asked her.

Nicole smiled at Donnie and I; "I'll see you guys later"

"Later Mike" Donnie replied; "Bye Nicole"

"Call me tomorrow" I demanded at Nicole; "I'm serious"

"I will. Don't worry" she replied and the two walked through the crowd of people and out of the house.

"He's gonna get laid" Donnie said turning to me.

"Yep he is"

"That makes two of us"

"Your sure about that huh?" I asked glaring at him.

Donnie grabbed my shoulder and pushed me up against the wall playfully and started kissing me. He pressed his body against mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck and started kissing him deeper. I knew Donnie had been drinking all night because his breath reeked of alcohol. All of this was reminding me of the first time Donnie and I were together and I was getting turned on more and more just thinking of what the night was going to bring. Donnie started sucking on my neck; "Do you wanna go?" I moaned.

Donnie stopped sucking on my neck and looked at me; "What? I thought you wanted to stay and hang out?" he said laughing.

"Yeah...but now I want to go" I said and took another gulp of beer.

"You want me huh?" he asked and took off his black and white MOJO hat and put it on my head; "Don't lie" he said brushing a piece of hair off my face.

I chugged the rest of my beer and handed Donnie the empty bottle; "Yeah, let's go"

* * *

"Should I drive?" I asked as we walked around trying to find his car amongst the fleet parked outside; "You've had more than me tonight"

"I'll be fine" he replied taking the keys out of his pocket; "My dad would be more mad if you drove, trust me" he said when we finally found his car.

"Just drive careful okay?" I said getting in the passenger seat.

"I will babe" he said then turned to me and smiled. I looking at him for a second, then grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him over to me, we started kissing and Donnie started feeling me up again; "I want you" he whispered in between passionate kisses.

"Take me to your house" I whispered back. Donnie bit his bottom lip, trying to control his urge. He started the car and backed out of the empty lot and onto the street. Whenever I was alone with Donnie a different side of me came out, my attitude and smart ass comebacks were replaced with flirting and the confidence to say whatever I could to get Donnie turned on.

"Touch me baby" Donnie said as he drove towards his house.

"What" I asked looking over at him, my head was starting to spin; "What do you want?"

"Touch me" he said stopping at a stop light; "Come on it's dark" he said and unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants; "Just a little"

"You want me to touch you?" I asked seductively and took off my seat belt. He looked over at me and shook his head as the light turned green; "I can do that" I said and reached over and put my hand down his pants and started touching him; "Like that?" I whispered in his ear, then started sucking on his earlobe.

Donnie kept driving, and tried his hardest to keep control of the car. He was breathing heavily and nervously checking the review mirror and speedometer; "Ready?" I whispered, still stroking his member steadily.

"For what?" I leaned over Donnie's lap and took his firm, hard, cock in my mouth; "Wha..what are you...." Donnie stuttered. I ignored him and continued pleasuring him as we drove through town. Donnie kept swerving all over the road, and I could hear him moaning and breathing heavily; "Your amazing baby..."

After a few minutes I noticed the car wasn't moving anymore, and that Donnie had leaned back in his seat. I stopped for a minute, jerking him off instead; "Are we at the house?"

"Yeah" Donnie replied nodding his head; "Don't stop baby" he said gently pushing my head back down; "I'm almost done"

I kept sucking Donnie off in the driveway until his body tensed up, then moved in jerky motions when he finished in my mouth with moans and grunts of satisfaction. I sat up quickly and held my hands to my mouth; "That's fucking awesome" Donnie said with a laugh when I shook my head and cleared my throat after swallowing the warm white liquid down.

"What's awesome?" I asked looking at him.

"Well I've never had a girl..." he said fixing his pants and belt buckle; "Swallow"

I laughed; "If your gonna do it you might as well do it right"

* * *

"We should try to be quiet, my dad might be awake" Donnie said as we walked up to his front door holding hands; "I hope he's passed out"

"Wait" I said stopping him.

"What?"

"Come here" I said smiling seductively at him.

"What?" he asked confused.

I laughed; "I want more"

"Yes ma'am" he growled. Donnie wrapped his arms around me and we started kissing; "I gotta unlock the door" he said in between kisses. I hung onto him kissing and touching his face. We embraced again and started kissing while we walked inside.

"Let's go to your bedroom" I whispered wrapping my hands around his neck.

"We'll do it right here. Just gotta be quiet" He pushed me against the wall, when he did my head hit a picture framed on the wall, knocking it to the ground. The glass shattered and flew everywhere; "Shit" Donnie said then looked at me and we both started laughing.

Suddenly a light flicked on and Charlie was standing there holding a beer, waiting for us; "Good morning Don"

Donnie stopped laughing and stared at his dad; "Hi dad"

"Hi Charlie" I added regaining my composer. I fixed my shirt that was lifted up above my bra and wiped the spit from our kisses off my face.

"Who's this? This Kathy?

"Kelly" Donnie corrected; "Her name is Kelly"

"Cute" he replied looking me over, like the first time I met him. Charlie must not remember very much due to his drinking; "Hi Kelly"

"Dad, please can you just go back to bed?" Donnie pleaded grabbing my hand.

"What happened to my picture?" he asked taking a sip of his beer.

"I dropped it"

"Yeah, you dropped it. That makes perfect sense huh?" Charlie asked walking over to us; "Can't hold on to the picture, can't hold on to the football"

I had to laugh inside because technically you can't hold onto a picture that is framed on the wall. Everyone in the room had one to many that night and I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"I can hold on to the football Dad now get the hell out of here!" Donnie yelled pointing out of the kitchen, in direction of Charlie's bedroom.

"Since when can you hold on to the football?" Charlie asked; "I haven't seen it. Have you seen him hold on to the football?" he asked turning to me.

"Hanging onto a football isn't what's important to me" I stated.

Charlie looked back and forth between Donnie and I, I could tell he was furious; "What were you guys doing outside for so long?"

"Talking" Donnie replied calmly, and squeezed my hand; "We didn't want to wake you up"

"Oh well it's too late for that" Charlie said angrily; "Damn headlights shine through my bedroom window"

"Sorry" Donnie said quietly.

"Yeah" Charlie said practically ignoring Donnie; "What happened at the game tonight?" he asked, once again bringing the subject of football up.

"We lost"

"The game was really close though" I added.

"I don't know where your from sweetheart but there's no such thing as 'close' down here in Texas, there's only winning" he said laughing at me; "Do you know how I feel when I watch you play football?" he asked Donnie. He didn't respond; "Do you?" he yelled loudly.

Donnie and I jumped from being startled; "No" Donnie replied calmly; "I don't"

"My Daddy used to take a bullwhip and he'd cut it up and he'd tie nine knots in it. Then he'd beat me and beat me in my gut till I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Well, that's how I feel when I watch you play football. Sick to my stomach"

"Nice" I said under my breath and let go of Donnie hand and crossed my arms against my chest, I wanted to walk outside and let Donnie and Charlie finish this conversation like men but I felt that if I stayed maybe Charlie would go easy on him.

"What did you say?" Charlie yelled and moved towards me.

"Dad!" Donnie yelled moving in between us; "Just go to bed!"

"No! I'm not done!" Charlie yelled backing away from me; "You were sent down here to learn how to play football and you haven't! You have not! And I gotta take that as a personal failure! I was supposed to make a man outta you!"

"Dad just go back to bed!" Donnie yelled just as loud.

Charlie put his beer down on the counter then slipped his state championship ring off his finger; "You know what that is?" he asked showing it to Donnie, off course he knew what it was, it was all Donnie ever heard about for years, Charlie was just trying to make a point; "Do you know what that is?"

"A state championship ring?" I asked; "I think he knows"

Charlie glared at me but ignored my comment; "That's a state championship. I won a state championship"

"Just calm down dad"

"Can you touch that?" Charlie asked rubbing the ring on Donnie's face; "Can...you...touch that? Can you touch that?" he repeated then brushed past Donnie and I and opened the front door, he looked at the ring in in his hand; "Hell with it" he said and chucked it into the front yard.

"What the hell are you doing?" Donnie asked running outside; "You drunk bastard!"

"Here let me help you" Charlie yelled and flicked on the patio light laughing. Charlie turned to me and winked at me; "Good night Maria"

"Kelly" I corrected; "My name is Kelly" I wanted to hit him and curse him out at that very moment but I decided to take the high road and be nice, I thought that if I said something disrespectful I'd never be allowed at his house again.

Charlie turned to walk towards his bedroom but turned around and looked at me; "By the way, the next time you want to have sex with my son, don't do it my goddamn car" he said, then finished off his can of beer and threw it in the garbage; "Good night Maria"

* * *

After Charlie left the room I immediately walked outside onto Donnie's front yard; "Need help?" I yelled into the darkness.

"I guess" Donnie replied; "I'm over here" he said and stood up.

I made out his figure in the dark and walked over to him; "I'm sorry Donnie" I said and gave him a big hug; "Don't worry we'll find it"

"There's no use, it's dark out"

"No, come on let's look, do you have a flashlight?"

"I'll look for it in the morning let's just go to bed" he said and walked back up to the front door, but instead of going inside he sat on the steps and put his head in his hands; "I'm sorry Kelly"

"Why do you keep apologizing?" I asked sitting down next to him; "I told you, it's fine"

"Why does he have to be so messed up?" he asked shaking his head; "His state ring! Why would he just throw that away like that?"

"Okay, first of all he's drunk"

"He's always drunk"

"We all do stupid things without thinking when we're drunk" I said, not realizing what I said. Donnie stared at me; "You know what I mean" I explained.

"I'm just sick of constantly hearing what I do wrong, what I don't do good enough why can't he say anything about what I do right? It's like making the team and playing isn't enough, I have to make a million touchdowns and rush a million yards"

"He's just wants you to be just like him, and if your not then he thinks there's no point"

Donnie looked at me and sighed; "I get sick of it after a while, that's why I hang out and drink and party all the time, to avoid this"

"You can't avoid it forever"

"I know"

"I'm serious. Because one day it could be too late and you'll regret it" Donnie stared at me and I started to cry; "Sorry" I said in between sobs.

"It's okay" he said putting his arm around me and pulled me closer; "What's going on?"

"Um...anyway. Are we going inside?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Are you okay?"

I tried to stop crying and compose myself; "I'm alright" I said, still crying.

"Do you cry when your drunk? Should I be worried?" he asked, trying to be funny.

"Okay I'm gonna tell you but I don't want to talk about it okay? I just want to go lay in bed after I tell you okay?"

Donnie nodded his head; "Yeah. Whatever you want"

"My dad was an alcoholic, for many many years. He had a great job and us and friends and everything" I started; "But he beat on us. I've seen him throw a telephone at my mom and he's hit me and threatened me and he used to try to have sexy with me when he was drunk"

Donnie wrapped his arms around me; "I'm really sorry. I had no idea"

"That's why your dad kind of creeps me out"

"He creeps you out?"

"Well every time he sees me he looks me over like he wants to touch me"

"No, if he ever touches you I'd be in jail you don't have to worry about that. Ever"

I shook my head and wiped away more tears; "But he never did anything to my brother Kevin, never yelled at him, never cursed in front of him, to this day Kevin doesn't know what happened between him, my mom, and I. He dad made sure Kevin never saw it or heard it"

"Asshole" Donnie mumbled; "I'm sorry, that's your dad but..."

I continued; "So my dad got him on the football team in junior high. He played quarterback. He taught Kevin it was okay to act like a hotshot, be king of the school, take advantage of being the star quarterback ya know? He had a bet with his own son Sophomore year to see if he could sleep with a girl on the cheerleading team. He offered Kevin a hundred dollars"

"Are you serious? That's fucked up. Is that why you don't like football players?"

"Yep" I said looking up at him; "He put Kevin on a pedestal for being quarterback but when I made the newspaper staff he laughed in my face. I know what it's like to not be good enough"

"How do you know all of this if Kevin doesn't know what you went through?"

"My mom. My mom knew about all of it the whole time"

"So what happened? Where's your dad now?"

I cleared my throat; "He died last year"

"I'm sorry" Donnie said kissing my forehead; "I'm so sorry"

"My mom and I got up the courage to confront him, and tell him he needs help and we were going to call the police and get everyone involved that day but...he didn't come home. He died in a car accident, got hit by a drunk driver. I have no closure at all. I have to deal with that everyday, knowing we were so close to helping him, and ending all the pain but...instead I live with more pain now" I said and broke down crying hysterically into Donnie's shoulder. He held me and talked to me while I let it all out; "I've never even told Nicole about this, Kevin doesn't even know"

"Well...at least it brought us together. Think on the bright side"

"Yeah" I said sitting back up; "I haven't had to hide bruises or cake makeup on my eyes for the past year" I said trying to laugh. Donnie wiped tears off my face with his hand; "Thanks Donnie"

He nodded his head and kissed me softly on the lips; "I won't tell anyone don't worry"

"I know you won't"

"Do you really want to go to bed now?"

"Yeah, but I want to sleep" I said standing up.

"Yeah?" Donnie asked confused; "That's what I meant"

"Oh Ok" I said walking back inside his house; "I thought you wanted to-"

"I'm not an asshole. Remember that okay?"

When we got into Donnie's bedroom we both threw ourselves onto his bed and got comfortable without even changing clothes; "I'm so tired" Donnie said rolling over onto his stomach.

"I am now too" I said yawning; "I really wanted you earlier though" I said teasing him.

"You can rub my back"

"What?" I asked laughing; "Oh that's right, tradition right?"

"Uh-huh" he said taking off his shirt. I couldn't help staring; "What?"

"Nothing. Lay down" I said and started rubbing his shoulders and back; "Are you really that tired?"

"Huh?" he asked, falling asleep; "Why?"

"We never finished what we started"

"Yeah that's because we started a million other things" he said laughing; "Okay, rub my back for five minutes, then we'll do it okay?"

I blushed; "Yeah..."

When I was done rubbing Donnie's back I laid down in his bed under the covers and got undressed. Donnie took off his pants and positioned himself over me with his legs on either side of me; "I've never had a girl who wanted it as much as you"

"Really? Do you like that? I can stop"

"No!"

"Shhh you don't want your dad interrupting us again do you?"

"Well I don't have a condom"

"Again? Alright just pull out, you'll be fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah it's fine" I said pulling him down over me.

"I need to get hard" he said touching himself to get an erection.

"Can I do it?" I asked excitedly.

"Uh...sure" he said and laid down on his back. I started to stroke him a little, then started to suck him off again; "Keep it up and you'll never get off baby"

"What?"

"I'm gonna go in your mouth again if you keep it up" I sat up and straddled himl. I positioned myself over him and directed him inside of me, I let out a moan as I spread my legs and let him in deeper; "You like that baby?" he asked grabbing my hips.

"Do you?" I asked and started to move up and down, slow at first, then Donnie and I got syncopated with each other and rocked back and forth. Donnie switched it up at the end and I was on my back again; "You have to dominate me to get off huh?" I asked.

"Maybe" he said and buried his head in my shoulder. I wrapped my legs around him and grabbed his shoulders; "I'm close"

"Me too" I grunted; "Pull out"

"I can't"

"Donnie!" I hissed; "Pull out!"

A few moments later the euphoric sense of orgasm came over me, more intense and amazing then ever. I didn't realize it but I was being loud and Donnie had to put one of his pillows over my face. I laid there afterwards staring up at him in a state of bliss, he was so handsome and I couldn't stop staring into his eyes; "Did you pull out?" I asked suddenly panicking.

"Um...no" Donnie said, finally pulling himself out of me.

"What? Donnie! I told you-"

"Shhh it's alright" Donnie said putting his pants back on, "I'll be right back"

"Where are you going?"

"The bathroom, I'll be right back baby" he whispered and walked out of his bedroom. I found some paper towels in his room and cleaned up my own area before getting dressed and laid back down in his bed. I tried not to think about it, I tried not to panic and think I was just got impregnated but I couldn't get the thought of my head; "What's wrong?" Donnie asked when he came back a few minutes later.

"Um..." I said trying to get him to put two and two together.

"What?" he asked laying in bed; "What's wrong?" he asked again as he cuddled up against me.

I rolled over to face him and he put his arms around me; "You finished in me without a condom on" I explained; "Um... that means I could get pregnant"

"Your not gonna get pregnant"

"How do you know?"

"You didn't last time remember?"

"I don't know how!"

"We'll just wait and see what happens"

"Easy for you to say"

"Don't stress about it, if it happens we'll deal with it when it comes okay?"

"It's easy for you to say" I repeated.

"If I'm responsible enough to come in my girlfriend I'm responsible enough to deal with the consequences. I told you I'm not a bad guy"

I sighed, Donnie had said enough to get my mind off of it for now. I do have irregular periods and I didn't get pregnant last time. We'd have to just wait and see, no point stressing over something we literally have no control over anymore; "Okay"

"I thought about this a lot last time"

"Really? Is that why you wouldn't talk to me?"

"It's not that I wouldn't talk to you, I was just worried you were, and that you didn't want anything to do with me because of it"

"Trust me, if I got pregnant I would be after your ass for child support"

Donnie laughed; "We'll worry about it if it happens" he said and kissed my forehead; "It's late, I'm going to sleep.

"Me too" I said yawning.

"For real this time? Or do you want to have sex again?"

I glared at him; "That's not funny" I rolled over and got comfortable snuggling up with Donnie. His breath on my neck sent chills down my spine. I felt so warm and fuzzy inside being in his arms; "Goodnight Donnie"

"Goodnight" he said draping his arm over me; "I love you"

"I love you too" I said without hesitation.


	14. New Developments

Chapter 14

New Developments

September 26th, 1988

The football season was off to a great start. On September 16th Permian beat Amarillo High thirty five to fourteen. Donnie, in one of the best games of his career, gained one hundred and forty one yards and scored three touchdowns. Since Boobie has been injured Donnie's been getting the ball more often and has been proving himself to everyone, including Charlie.

A few days before the Amarillo High game Donnie developed acute asthma. To get through the game they gave him a shot before kickoff which didn't help him out much. He suffered through the first half with snot and mucus constantly coming out of his nose and mouth. He threw up in the locker room at half time and when the team trainer asked him if he wanted to keep playing he replied '"Yes sir" but Trapper benched him the second half.

Permian High Homecoming was Friday night, against our cross town rivals from the west - Odessa High. There were fifteen thousand fans packed in the stadium under a full moon. We moved down the field with excellent precision, Brian made tackles harder than ever, Donnie scored two touchdowns and Mike played beautifully under pressure. At the end of the third quarter Odessa had yet to score a point, and Coach Gaines put the second-team players in. After watching them run a few sloppy plays he put the first-team in again, not wanting to let up - the final score was thirty five to zero.

* * *

The Monday after Homecoming I woke up in Donnie's bed. I spent Saturday night here too, and was only at my house when he had practice. We couldn't get enough of each other lately and we wanted to spend all of our free time together. Charlie didn't mind as long as Donnie didn't miss any football practices or meetings; "Wake up baby" I said pushing on his shoulder; "We're gonna be late"

"What?" he asked rolling over; "No"

"Come on, this is serious"

I got out of bed and got dressed, then went to the bathroom to freshen up. When I came back Donnie was sitting on his bed wearing a pair of jeans and a Permian Panthers t-shirt; "Come here" he said in his deep morning voice that I loved waking up to.

I walked over to him and sat on his lap; "Good morning"

"Morning" he said closing his eyes and rested his head on my shoulder; "What time is your appointment?"

"As soon as they open, eight" I said looking at his clock, it was seven thirty. If we told our parents we were going to the Planned Parenthood clinic, and showing up late to school on top of it, I'm pretty sure we would both be murdered. I haven't had a period at all this month and we were both starting to worry that maybe I really was pregnant; "Let's go"

Charlie had off from work today so Donnie could borrow the car and drive us to the appointment, and then school afterwards. Brian knew we were going, and so did Nicole but we made them swear to secrecy. People in school freaked out when they found out were dating, and we couldn't imagine what they would say if they thought I was pregnant; "Are you nervous?" I asked as Donnie drove through town; "I'm nervous"

"It'll be okay" he smiled at me; "I promise"

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes"

The thought of being pregnant scared the shit out of me. I'm eighteen, old enough to make my own decisions but I was torn. I didn't want to give up my life and all the hanging out and partying to raise a baby, I still wanted to go to college in New York City too. I couldn't think of aborting it or giving it up for adoption for someone else to raise either. In a small town like Odessa everyone knows your business. I could picture it now, everyone talking about how Charlie's son "the one who can't hold onto the ball" knocked up some random girl from New York in a drunk night of debauchery. No one gets pregnant at eighteen. Eighteen year olds drink until they can't feel feelings anymore. Eighteen year olds fall in love. Eighteen year olds have their whole lives ahead of them; "I'm nervous"

"I know you are baby. Did you say anything to your mom?"

"I lied and told her I was at my friends house again" I said shaking my head; "She is going to kill me if she finds out I've been at your house all these nights"

"You should stay home more often" he said pulling into the parking lot of the clinic.

"You want me to?"

"I didn't say that but if your mom is going to kill you..."

"She'd just ground me, then I'd sneak out anyway" I said shrugging my shoulders; "But I guess that's what got us into this mess in the first place" I said looking down at my stomach.

"I told you it will be okay. We'll figure something out"

I sighed; "Yeah"

"It'll be okay" Donnie repeated, I think he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me.

Donnie and I walked into the clinic together. It smelled like rubbing alcohol inside and the room was a drab light brown with pictures of fetuses and newborn babies on the wall. Old, wooden, uncomfortable chairs lined the outside of the room and piles of pregnancy and parenting magazines littered the tables. I wanted to run screaming in the opposite direction; "Can I help you?" the receptionist asked smiling at me.

"Um..." I said walking up to the desk; "Yeah I....we...are here for a pregnancy test"

"Did you make an appointment?"

"Yes, my name is Kelly Gates"

The receptionist looked at the files scattered on the desk then handed me a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it; "Please fill this out, and the nurse will call you back in a few minutes"

"Thank you" I said taking it from her.

"Your welcome" she said, then looked at Donnie and nodded warmly; "Are you with her?"

"Yes" he said nervously, putting his hand on my back.

"Come on" I said pulling him over to the waiting room; "What was that all about?" I whispered when he sat down next to me.

"I think I know her"

"You know every girl" I said rolling my eyes and started filling out the paperwork.

"No seriously, she looks like one of my dad's old girlfriends"

"Oh" I said then thought for a moment; "Well If she's an ex she doesn't still talk to your dad, don't worry about it"

Donnie shook his head; "Yeah. I guess your right"

While Donnie and I waited a few women came inside, Donnie and I were the youngest ones there and we got a lot of disapproving stares in our direction; "I told you last night not to wear a Panther's shirt" I whispered to him, everyone in town knew who Donnie was because he played football, I knew a few of the women recognized him.

"It was the only shirt I had that was clean" he hissed back looking around the room at the women nervously; "Can I wait in the car?"

"Ms. Gates?" a nurse said coming out into the waiting room. Donnie and I stood up and walked over to her; "Oh I'm sorry sir you'll have to wait out here. We're just doing a urine test" the nurse stated looking at Donnie.

"Oh" Donnie looked and sounded disappointed, he told me that if I was pregnant he wanted to be there for everything; "I'll be out here I guess"

"You can wait in the car"

"No, I'll be right here" he said and kissed my cheek, then sat back down in the chair.

When we got to the examination room the nurse went over the paperwork I filled out and asked me a few health questions, she then led me to the bathroom with a plastic cup. After providing the sample and placing the cup in the cubby hole I sat in the hallway with a few others here for the same reason, everyone stared at the ground and avoided eye contact. 'He loves me' I reminded myself; 'Everything will be okay' It felt like I sat there for an hour, I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it had only been twenty minutes of sitting there awkwardly.

"Kelly?" the nurse asked walking back into the hallway; "We're going to go back to examination room two" I stood up and followed her back to the same examination room we were in before. She closed the door behind her than sat down across from me. She opened my file and glanced at the paperwork inside before looking up at me; "Your test results came back negative"

"Yes!" I exclaimed with a smile on my face; "That's awesome!" I wanted to do cartwheels down the hallway and yell from the top of the roof that I wasn't pregnant that's how happy I was. I couldn't wait to tell Donnie.

"There are a few questions I have to ask you before you leave here today okay?"

"That's fine"

"What form of birth control are you currently using?"

"Um" I said shrugging my shoulders; "We don't really use birth control"

"How many sexual partners have you had?"

"Two"

"Have you ever been tested for any sexual transmitted diseases?"

"Yes, last month, it all came back negative" I explained. Nicole and I lied to our parents and came here the week after Donnie and I had sex the first time; "Why?"

"To avoid unwanted pregnancy I recommend that you start using birth control" she replied and explained to me the various methods of birth control that were available for me. I inquired about the birth control pill and told the nurse I would be back in a few weeks to pick up a prescription, until then I grabbed a handful of free condoms they provided; "If you have any other questions feel free to call" the nurse said handing me a receipt as we walked back into the waiting room. Donnie noticed us, stood up and walked over to me.

"Thanks a lot"

"Your welcome, have a good day"

"Well?" Donnie asked as soon as the nurse left.

"Well what?"

"Are you?"

"Hello" I said handing the receptionist my receipt.

"That will be ten dollars"

I paid for my appointment then walked outside with Donnie right behind me; "Well?" he asked again then ran to catch up with me and stood in front of me.

"Congratulations!" I said with a big smile on my face.

"What?" he asked surprised then a smile crept across his face; "You are?"

I reached into my messenger bag and pulled out the handful of condoms; "Nope. I'm gonna keep fucking the shit out of you though" I said and started laughing, then put the condoms back in my bag.

"You suck" he said laughing.

"Did I scare ya?"

"Yes!" he said; "I sat there and just watched the clock, you were in there forever! I was the only guy in there too!"

"Sorry" I said, taking his hand and walked back to the car; "But I'm not so that means I can drink again" I stopped drinking beer at the after game parties just in case; "I'm going to come back in a few weeks to get on the birth control pill"

"Whatever you want"

Donnie opened the car door for me but stopped me before I could get in; "Yeah?" I asked looking at him confused; "What?"

"I love you" he said and kissed me; "If you told me you were pregnant I would have been happy. Really happy. You know that right?"

I smiled up at him; "Now I do. I love you too" Donnie shut my door, then got in the drivers seat and we drove towards the school; "Do you wanna ditch today?" I asked looking over my literature notes; "I don't really wanna go"

"I have to go" he said taking his hat off his head and put it on mine, it's our thing we do all the time now; "I have a test in math and if I don't go to school I can't go to practice-"

"And if you don't practice you can't play"

"Exactly"

"It's a bye week this week, what are we doing Friday? Party at Nick's again?"

"Yep"

"We should all go out and do something though, not just go to the party"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, dinner or a movie or something. Something that's not beer and burgers"

"But that's the best!"

I laughed; "We should do something different the weekends you don't have games"

"Just you and I?"

"Yeah, or we could invite Mike and Nicole too, a double date. That'd be fun"

Donnie didn't look too into the idea; "I'll talk to Winchell. What about Chavo? Chavo has to come"

"Of course he can come"

"What are we telling people when they ask why we were late for school again? I forgot" Donnie asked a few minutes later when we pulled into the high school parking lot.

"We're gonna tell 'em we were hung over and fucking"

Donnie laughed; "I freaking love you"

* * *

After a stressful week of school trying to focus and pull my grades up another Friday night came and went, we all went to Nick's party and hung out drinking until the morning hours again. Brian and Bridgitte, who have known each other since Freshman year, hooked up at Nick's party, and are now boyfriend and girlfriend. Nicole and Mike are spending more time together but still aren't officially a couple - Mike continues to be in football mode, rarely talking about anything else or even cracking a smile.

* * *

September 31st, 1988

"Mom, if Donnie comes by don't be mean okay?" I asked walking through the kitchen; "Let him in and tell him I ran to Nicole's real quick"

"What?" my mom, obviously confused, asked putting dinner on the table for her and Kevin; "What time will he be here?"

I looked at the clock and back at my mom; "In about ten minutes. I just have to run this shirt over to Nicole's, can I borrow the car real quick?"

"Don't do it mom" Kevin said shaking his head.

"What?" I asked staring at him; "What's your problem?"

"Your always out, your out everyday. When was the last time you ate dinner with us?"

I sighed and looked at my mom; "Really? You guys are doing this right now?"

"Oh stop" my mom said handing me the car keys; "I told you, I don't care what you do as long as you keep your grades up"

"Yeah, what did you get on that math test yesterday?" Kevin, who has been tutoring me in geometry asked; "Let me guess an 'F'?"

"Actually I got a seventy-nine, which isn't that bad"

"Which isn't that good" Kevin smirked under his breath.

"Anyway! I'll be back" I yelled, annoyed, and ran out the back door to my mom's car. Nicole called me a few minutes ago and told me the shirt she wanted to wear tonight had a stain on it. She asked to borrow one of my maroon tank tops and black button up shirts that she would match with her black pants. I was in the middle of getting dressed myself when she called and only had half of my hair straightened; "Hi Uncle Dan!" I said when he opened their front door for me.

"Good evenin' Kelly" he said welcoming me inside; "How have you been kid?"

"I've been alright. I'm sorry Dan I'm kind of in a rush, is Nicole upstairs?"

My uncle laughed; "It's okay, just go on up Kel"

I ran upstairs and knocked on Nicole's door; "I got your shirts!"

"Come in!" she yelled from the other side.

I walked into her room and found her sitting in front of the mirror putting on make wearing just pants and a bra; "Here you go" I said handing her the shirts; "Might want to get dressed"

Nicole laughed and took them from me; "Yeah, nice hair by the way"

"Hey, you interrupted me!" I said and ran my hand through my hair; "Have you heard from any of the guys?"

"Yeah Brian just called me, he and Bridgitte are on their way over to pick up Mike, then they are heading over here" she replied, putting the tank top on.

"Alright, I should get back then. I don't know what time Donnie is showing up"

"We're just going to meet at the movie theater then?"

"Yeah, the movie starts at seven twenty"

"It's going to be a long night" Nicole sighed.

"I know. I'm already tired" Donnie and I didn't get back to his house last night until two a.m., but we didn't get to sleep until around four. The team had a meeting and practice earlier today also; "I don't know how we do this week after week" I said with a laugh; "We're nuts"

"We're not nuts, we just know how to have fun" she replied; "How does this look?" she asked buttoning up the crisp black shirt.

"Looks good, just make sure you leave the top couple buttons and the last two unbuttoned"

"Why?" she asked tugging on the shirt.

"Leave something to the imagination"

"Whatever" she said rolling her eyes; "What are you wearing tonight?"

"I'm just gonna put on a different shirt" I said looking down at my dark blue jeans; "But I'm gonna run, I wanna finish my hair and do my makeup"

"Alright, I'll see you there"

"Yep, don't be late" I said and ran downstairs.

"Leaving already?" Aunt Jackie said stopping me in the living room.

"Yep, I gotta finish getting ready"

"Where are you girls going tonight?"

"Oh, we're going to a movie"

"By yourselves?"

I didn't know how much Nicole had already told her, or if she's even said anything about Mike; "Uh no there is a whole group of us going from school" I replied vaguely, not wanting to get Nicole in trouble.

"What are you doing after the movie?"

"We don't really know yet" My aunt looked at me and I could tell she wanted to say something, I know that look very well, my mom gives me the same one all the time; "What?"

"Nicole is a good girl"

I looked at her confused; "I know she is"

"She's never been out like this before, hanging out and drinking"

"Sorry..." I said awkwardly, I felt like she was blaming me for how Nicole was acting even though Nicole has been drinking underage for a few years; "We're careful. Trust me"

"Listen I've lived in Texas my whole life I know what you guys are doing. I know you think your invisible and that nothing can happen to you but I worry about you out there at night"

I walked over and gave her a hug; "Thanks. Don't worry we're careful, really we are. Besides, I'm from New York, I can handle my own"

"Well that's what I worry about" she said laughing.

"I don't have a gun or anything, geez"

"Me and your mom just worry okay? We were bad when we were your age, we can't imagine what you two are doing"

"Nothing too bad" I said laughing.

My aunt stared at me; "Alright, get out of here, I don't want to know anything else"

"Later Jackie" I said smiling at her and walked out the door.

I was relived when I pulled up to my house and Donnie's car wasn't in the driveway - that meant I still had time to get ready! Usually when Nicole and I go out with the guys we throw on a pair of jeans and a Permian t-shirt, or wear the clothes we wore to school but tonight we thought we'd do something different and more "official", this is me and Donnie's, as well as Brian and Bridgitte's, first date.

I changed my shirt, straightened my hair, and did my make up. Just as I stood up to look at myself in the mirror I heard the doorbell ring; 'He's here' I told myself and grabbed my bag and walked to the top of the stairs, I wanted to eavesdrop on Donnie and my mother a bit before I went downstairs.

"Good evening" I heard Donnie's voice from the front door; "I'm Donnie, I'm here to see Kelly" I told Donnie to be polite but not to overdo it the first time he met my mom, she would be able to see through it immediately.

"Hello" my mom replied; "Come on in, Kelly should be just about done"

"Thank you"

Donnie and my mother stood in the foyer for a few minutes looking at each other; "Kelly told me you play football"

"Yes ma'am. Tailback"

"I haven't been to one of the games yet, but maybe now I'll start going" Donnie nodded awkwardly; "What are your plans for tonight?"

"We're going to go see the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie"

"How romantic" my mom said sarcastically; "Will Kelly be staying at your house tonight?"

"No ma'am, I have family coming in front out of town tomorrow so I will have Kelly back late. If that's okay"

"That's fine. Are you driving tonight?"

"Yes ma'am, I have my fathers car"

"Well just be careful, that's all I'm asking"

"Of course"

My mother nodded approvingly; "I'm going to go get Kelly" I heard her say and started to walk downstairs; "Kelly!" she yelled up the stairs.

"Right here mom" I replied coming down; "Hi Donnie" I smiled looking over at him, he nodded nervously and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets; "I'll be back later" I said turning back to my mom.

"Okay" she said giving me a hug; "Have fun"

"We will" I said walking down the rest of the stairs and past Donnie. "Leave the key under the mat please?" I asked opening the door.

"I will"

"It was nice meeting you" Donnie said smiling politely at my mom.

"You too Donnie, don't be a stranger"

"No ma'am"

"Come on" I said grabbing Donnie's hand; "I love you mom!" I yelled over my shoulder as we walked to his dad's car parked in the driveway.

"You look nice tonight" Donnie said opening the door for me.

"And you..." I said kissing him before I got in; "Always look amazing"

Donnie shut my door then got in the driver's seat; "Your mom seems nice" he said starting the car.

"You did good in there" I teased; "Real smooth"

"I was nervous"

"You were very polite though"

"I tried"

"Thanks babe. So what's the plan for after the movie?"

"I don't know about everybody else but I have something planned for you and me"

"Oh yeah?" I asked looking at him curious; "A hotel room?"

"No. Better. You'll see"

"Better than a hotel room?" I asked glaring at him; "Hmm. I love surprises!"

"I know you do. You'll love this one. Trust me"

* * *

Donnie and I were the first ones at the movie theater; "So you know the Bridgitte girl that Brian is with now?" I asked as we sat in the car waiting.

"Yeah?"

"Well I remember at the first football practice I went to her and her friend Gina were talking about you"

"About me?"

"Yeah about how they heard you were good in bed and how they wanted to find out for themselves"

"They didn't say that! Did they?"

"Yeah, Nicole and I overheard them"

"That's a little awkward"

"Yep, and now she's with Brian, how ironic"

"They've known each other since Freshman year"

"But still...she was thinking about you in bed before she started dating your best friend" Donnie shrugged his shoulders, it wasn't like Bridgitte was the first girl to think about Donnie in bed; "I wish I was spending the night at your house tonight"

"Me too" he said putting his hand on my thigh; "We're meeting my grandmother at church at seven, that's the only reason he won't let you stay tonight"

"I understand, but I miss you when I'm not with you"

"Me too babe" he said; "Chavo's here" he said pointing out my window at Brian who just pulled up next to us.

The six of us made small talk in the parking lot for a bit before walking up to the theater to buy our tickets. The guys all seemed to want to "one up" each other, if Donnie put his arm around me, Mike and Brian would do the same with Nicole and Bridgitte. When Donnie asked if I wanted popcorn, Mike and Brian asked Nicole and Bridgitte if they wanted popcorn.

We sat together in the back row of the movie theater. Mike was sitting against the wall, next to Nicole. Bridgitte sat next to Nicole, who was with Brian, and Brian sat next to Donnie; "I don't really want to watch this movie" Donnie said putting his arm around me.

"Why not?" I asked and started to eat some popcorn.

"Well I didn't see the first three Nightmare on Elm Street movies"

"You haven't?" I asked in shock; "Well we could just make out the whole time"

Donnie looked over at me smiling; "Really?"

"No" I said sticking a piece of popcorn in his mouth; "I wanna see it"

Donnie chewed the popcorn then rolled his eyes; "Fine. But I'm gonna get you later"

"I know you are" I tried to watch the movie and pay attention but Donnie was constantly kissing my neck or whispering in my ear. I looked over and saw Brian and Bridgitte making out a few times, and I caught Mike and Nicole kissing too. At the end of the movie I wrapped my arms around Donnie's neck and started making out with him as the lights came back on.

"Hey! Hey Don!" Brian said kicking Donnie's legs, trying to get through the isle; "Let's go!"

"Thanks Chavo" Donnie said then we stood up and walked to the end the isle.

"You guys are so gross" Nicole teased shaking her head walking past us, holding Mike's hand.

"And you guys are so cute" I teased back; "Just be together already" Nicole turned and glared at me; "Sorry" I said laughing; "Just saying what everyone is thinking"

"After we win State" Mike said; "She's mine"

"Did you like the movie Winchell?" Donnie asked as we walked out of the theater.

"It was alright" he replied nodding his head; "Are ya'll going out tonight?"

"We're heading over to Nick's" Bridgitte said hanging all over Brian; "You coming?"

"You want to go?" Nicole asked Mike: "Just for a little bit?"

"Yeah we can go if you want. Just for a little bit"

"Coming Billingsley?" Brian asked when we got to our cars in the parking lot.

"No, I'm good"

"Donnie Billingsley is passing up a party? Am I witnessing history?" Bridgitte asked glaring at us.

Donnie laughed; "Something like that"

"Alright well see you later man" Mike said getting into the car.

"Later guys" Donnie said opening my door.

"I'll call you tomorrow Nicole" I said smiling at her; "Be careful"

"You be careful" she said smiling at me, then got in the back seat with Mike.

"I'll see you later Chavo" Donnie said shutting my door.

"Later Billingsley, have a good night" he smirked.

"Oh I will"

"I know you will" he said shaking his head and got in his car, ready to drive across town to another one of Nick's parties.

* * *

"Where are we going? What's the surprise?" I begged as Donnie drove out of the movie theater parking lot; "I'm nosey"

"I know you are, and your not going to find out. I've had this planned for a while, your not ruining the surprise"

Donnie drove across town and pulled into the 7-11 parking lot; "Are you serious?" I asked as the fluorescent light from the sign shown inside the car; "This is the surprise? Really?"

"No. This is food to eat on the way to the surprise, come on" he said laughing. We got out and walked into 7-11 with our arms around each other. We grabbed some chocolate milk, Coca Cola, and burritos and walked up to the counter to pay.

"Hi Donnie" the cashier, a attractive blonde wearing a low cut, tight, white shirt said when Donnie put our items on the counter; "How are you?"

"Hi Valerie. I'm alright" he said smiling awkwardly at her; "I didn't know you worked here"

"I just started. You'll have to start coming in and seeing me"

"Uh..." he said looking at me. I smiled at him and raised my eyebrows; "Valerie have you met my girlfriend, Kelly?"

"No" Valerie said without looking at me then started to bag our stuff; "That will be six dollars Don" Donnie took out his wallet and paid; "Here, let me give you my new phone number" she said when his receipt printed out and grabbed a pen and wrote her phone number on the back.

"Um..." Donnie said taking our bag off the counter.

Valerie handed the receipt to Donnie but I grabbed it out of his hands and ripped it up into little pieces and left it it in a nice pile on the counter; "He won't be calling you" I said smiling at her; "Come on Donnie"

"I'll see ya" he said to Valerie over his shoulder and put his arm around me.

"Sorry, I don't know if that's your friend or what but she was pretty rude" I said when we got outside.

"I know, I'm sorry" he said handing me the bag and opened my door for me.

"Does she go to school with us?" I asked when Donnie got in the car.

"Yeah" he replied backing out of our parking spot; "I wasn't going to call her, just so you know"

"I know" I said unscrewing a bottle of chocolate milk and handed it to him; "You have a lot of chick friends but..."

"But I'm yours" he finished for me and took a sip of chocolate milk; "Can I have a burrito"

I laughed and handed him one; "Can you tell me where we're going now?"

"Nope. Sorry. We'll be there soon though"

Donnie and I drove along an empty road in the middle of the night talking about everything and anything. We talked about our childhoods, our families, school and of course football. Finally Donnie pulled off the road into an empty, dark, unpaved lot; "Here we are" he said turning off the car.

"Are you going to kill me? Where the hell are we?"

"The Pit" he said getting out of the car; "Come on"

"I can't see anything" I said opening my door. Donnie came around to my side and took my hand; "What's The Pit?"

"Me, Chavo and Winchell come up here to shoot"

"Come up here? How far are we from Odessa?"

"Only like thirty miles" he said and led me to the back of the car; "Come on" he said and got up on the trunk. I jumped up there with him and laid with Donnie against the back windshield; "I wanted to bring you up here for a sunset but this is nice too"

"It is" I said looking up at the crystal clear sky that was filled with stars; "This is beautiful, you can't do this in New York, too much artificial light"

"I've never been to New York City"

"No? You should go, it's pretty cool"

"Maybe"

"I'd take you but then you'd run the risk of running into...yeah"

"Zac?"

"Yeah" I said turning to him; "Are you still angry about that?"

"I just don't like to think about it. I know he's your friend but I don't want you to be friends with someone that you also had sex with because if he's had it once he's going to want it again"

I thought for a minute; "Good point. What about your ex girlfriend?"

"What about her?"

"Do I have to worry about her?"

"No, I don't think so"

"You don't think so?" I asked laughing; "What's her name anyway?"

Donnie cleared his throat and looked over at me; "Valerie"

"Valerie? Like the girl from 7-11? That's your ex girlfriend?"

"Yeah"

"Shit"

"Why?"

"Why did you guys break up again? She's gorgeous!"

"She cheated on me remember? I caught her at a party giving another guy a hand job in the bathroom"

"Nice"

"You know I may have a lot of girl friends, and flirt, and say shit I don't mean and get in trouble but I would never cheat on someone. That's something you just don't do. If you want to be with someone else leave the person your with first. I just don't get it"

I smiled; "I'm sorry she cheated on you"

"Me too. Well, not really. If she didn't cheat on me I'd probably still be with her, and not you" he said and leaned over and kissed me; "I love you. So much"

"I love you too Donnie"

"I've been thinking..."

"Yeah?"

"Well when you thought you were pregnant I was thinking of what we'd do if you were and it got me thinking about what I wan to do after high school"

"What do you wan to do?"

"I'm gonna try to go to college"

"That's good"

"I want you to come with me"

"Where are you going to college?"

"I want to go somewhere in Texas, but if not I might go to Oklahoma, my mom lives up there. If you want, or what were you thinking of doing after high school?"

"I'm going to apply to New York University"

"Oh" he said disappointed; "Do you want to be with me though?"

"Of course! I defiantly want to be with, I just don't know where each of us will be, we have lots of time to figure it out"

"I guess"

"I know I miss being over at your house practically every night"

"Your mom killed that for us"

"She changes her story all the time. Earlier today she said she didn't care what I did as long as my grades didn't slip. But I guess we shouldn't see each other that much during the season anyway, I don't want to distract you"

"You always distract me, It doesn't matter. I don't know what it is, I'm always thinking about you"

"Always? Even when your playing football?"

"Okay, well not during the actual game" he said laughing; "But all the other hours of the day"

"Oh yeah? What do you think about?" I asked glaring at him.

"I think about your lips" he said and kissed me; "And your neck" he kissed my neck softly; "And these" he said and squeezed my breast; "And this" he said and reached for the button on my pants.

"Do you wanna? Right now?"

"Should we?"

"Your dad didn't say anything about having sex on the car" I said tugging on Donnie's shirt; "Take this off"

Donnie and I made love on the his father's car that night and it was the most romantic experience of my life. Instead of the usual grunting, and screaming Donnie and I breathed and moaned on each other, our eyes locked on each other's. The usual fast and hard thrusting was replaced by a more deep, yet, softer kind of passion. I felt more intimacy and connection that night than I ever felt in my whole life. That night I discovered I was deeply in love with Don Billingsley, and that nothing was going to stop us from being together.


	15. Game 5: Midland

Chapter 15  
Game 5: Midland

October 3rd, 1988

My Monday morning at school started like any other Monday morning - I sat in homeroom, my head pounding and my eyes heavy. Donnie and I stayed up late last night watching movies, making up for the fact that we couldn't spend Saturday night together; "Ms. Gates?" my homeroom teacher yelled from the front of room; "Ms. Gates come here please"

I rolled my eyes and slung my messenger bag over my shoulder as I walked to her desk; "Yes?" I asked, rubbing the sleep dirt out of my eyes.

"You have been volunteered to show our new student to his first class" she said and handed me a class schedule and a hall pass; "He has honors history, downstairs with Mr. Fredricks"

'Why would she have me show the new kid around when I've only been here since August?' I thought then looked over at him and was pleasantly surprised. He was tall and had brown shaggy hair, and a barbell through his right eyebrow. He wore head to toe black and the 'CBGB' t-shirt stood out the moment I laid eyes on him; 'Not that I'm complaining'

"I'm Adam" he said putting his book bag over his shoulder.

"Kelly" I replied; "Come on, let's go"

"Make sure you go to your first period class Kelly" my homeroom teacher reminded me before I left the room; "I won't write you another hall pass"

"Yes Ma'am" I said rolling my eyes and walked out of the room; "Why Texas?" I blurted out as soon as I Adam and I were out in the hallway.

"What?"

"Why are you the new kid in good old Odessa Texas?" I pressed.

"Oh. I got tired of my parents and decided to come live with my grandparents"

"Interesting" I said and stared to walk downstairs; "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I've spent every summer here since I was kid"

I turned around and pointed to his shirt; "Are you from New York?"

"Born and raised in Brooklyn" he replied with a smile.

"Nice, Im from Manhattan. I lived in Queens before I came here though"

"Yeah I could tell you weren't from around here"

"How could you tell?"

"I could just tell" he said smiling at me; "You don't look like a quiet girl from Texas"

"Yeah. I guess" I said shrugging my shoulders; "Um, this is your class. Mr. Fredricks isn't a history teacher, he's just filling in for the teacher on maternity leave. His name is Bill, one of the assistant coaches of the football team so you'll end up watching a movie or something"

Adam nodded his head; "Are you going to show me around to all my classes today?"

"Well It would get me out of all of my classes a few minutes early" I said thinking; "Yeah, I'll come get you" The hallways filled up quickly after the bell for first period rang; "You said you spent your summers down here, so you know a few people in the school right?" I asked as kids walked past us in a hurry.

"No, just you"

"I'll introduce to you some of the guys then" I knew Brian would be coming down this hallway soon because he has honors history this period as well.

"What guys?"

"The football team"

Adam rolled his eyes; "No thanks, that's okay"

Just then I saw Brian and Bridgitte walk down the hallway together. Brian walked Bridgitte to her class then walked over to me; "Hey Brian!" I said smiling at him.

"What are you doing over here? You don't takes honors do you?"

I laughed; "Me? Honors? That's funny. No, I have history in the other hallway" I replied; "I got volunteered to show the new kid to his first class. Adam this is Brian, Brian this is Adam" I introduced them.

"Nice to meet you" Brian said looking over at Adam.

"Yeah you too"

"Has he met Donnie yet?" Brian whispered, raising an eyebrow.

"No why?" I asked laughing.

"Who's Donnie?" Adam asked looking at Brian and I.

"Her boyfriend" Brian replied staring at him; "I'll see you later Kelly" he said and walked into the classroom.

"Later Brian"

"What was that all about?" Adam asked turning to me.

"Don't know" I replied with a laugh; "I guess he wanted you to know I have a boyfriend"

"I don't really care if you have a boyfriend or not"

I looked at him embarrassed, I didn't want it to come across like Brian and I were assuming Adam "liked me"; "Sorry I didn't mean it like that"

"If you have a boyfriend or not that doesn't mean I can't flirt with you"

"Yeah we'll see about that" I said sarcastically as the bell rang.

* * *

After history class I met up with Adam and showed him where his art class was while I went to health. When I got out of health I walked him to his math class; "I think Donnie is in this class" I said as we walked up to the door.

"Oh great" he said rolling his eyes; "I get to meet your boyfriend?"

"Yeah" I said getting excited as I saw Donnie walk down the hallway. During the day we usually only saw each other in the morning and food science class, and then at practice after school; "Hey baby" I said smiling when Donnie walked up to me.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" he asked and kissed me, happy that he got to see me a little extra today.

"I got volunteered to show the new kid around" I explained turning to Adam; "Adam this is my boyfriend Donnie, Donnie this is Adam, the new kid"

"Hi new kid" Donnie said nodding at him.

"What's up?"

"So you've been spending all day with him?" Donnie asked defensively.

"No, not that lucky" Adam mumbled under his breath.

"I've been getting out of my classes early to show him where his are, that's it. It's been great" I said laughing.

"Hey I'll see you after class" Adam said elbowing me.

"Okay, later Adam" I said smiling at him, then turned back to Donnie; "Relax" I said, knowing that Donnie was fuming on the inside.

"I am relaxed" he said shaking his head; "I'm good"

"You look like you want to beat the shit out of him"

"Not yet. Get to class babe, don't be late" he said giving me a hug.

"See you later" I said and walked down the hall towards my next class.

When I got out of chemistry I practically ran through the halls to Donnie's math class. I stood out side the door and got Donnie's attention through the window. Once he saw me I started to tease him by grabbing my breasts, sucking on my finger and acting like I was having an orgasm. Donnie was smiling at me and shaking his head, he hated when I teased him.

When the bell rang Donnie walked out with Adam right behind him; "Here to walk me to class?" Donnie asked putting his arm around me.

"You wish"

"Yes. Yes I do" he said jokingly.

"Where is your next class?" I asked Adam who was on the other side of me.

"English"

"That's upstairs" I said looking at Donnie.

"Let him find it himself"

"I can't do that. Come with me" I suggested; "Who cares if we're late?"

"Nah, go ahead" he said shaking his head; "I love you"

"I love you too babe" I walked upstairs with Adam and showed him his english class; "You know the drill, I'll be back" I said standing outside his room.

"Is your boyfriend mad?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"Just saying if he's gets this intimated over someone who needs help finding a class...I don't know he sounds pretty insecure to me"

"He's not insecure. He's just over protective"

"Well if I had a hot girlfriend like you I'd be over protective too" he said smiling at me; "See you later"

"Bye Adam" I said rolling my eyes and ran back downstairs to my food science class so I could spend the period with Donnie making the teacher's life a living hell.

* * *

Adam had lunch the same period as Kevin and I. After I introduced the two of them we realized we had a lot in common and a lot to talk about - mostly New York City. Adam was constantly smiling at me and flirting with me, tossing innuendoes around like no one else knew what he was talking about.

After the last bell that day I introduced him to Nicole; "What do you think of Adam?" I asked afterwards when Nicole and I walked to her truck, getting ready to head to the football practice.

"I don't like him"

"No? Why not?"

"He seems like a jerk. I think he's really rude, especially after what you told me about lunch"

"He seemed cool at first but now I think he's just trying to piss Donnie off"

"He'll get what's coming to him" she said as we reached her truck; "When he does, it ain't gonna be pretty!"

* * *

Boobie still wasn't cleared to play the rest of the season. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and required more surgery after the season. The coaches have been calling Boobie lazy, stupid, and selfish the past few weeks when word went around that he was trying to come back. They wanted him to rest and have the surgery needed and then focus on trying to play college ball.

Boobie came to his first practice since the injury that Monday and found a white jersey hanging on his locker - only the back up players wore white jerseys. He asked assistant coach Belew if he was playing at the Midland game on Friday, Belew was amazed that Boobie would actually think he was in any shape to play. When Boobie realized he was still benched, his defeatist attitude shown through and he refused to talk to anyone at practice, let alone participate.

* * *

Nicole and I drove to the stadium and sat in our usual spot in the bleachers - right on the fifty yard line all the way in the back. Usually the people who come and watch the practices want to sit towards the front and try to overhear what the coaches and players say to each other, but Nicole and I usually want privacy; "Haven't see you in a while" I said turning to her; "What have you been doing without me lately?"

"I've been with Mike" she replied, smiling; "A lot"

"Oh yeah?" I asked glaring at her; "Care to elaborate?"

"Well I've been giving him rides everywhere since he doesn't have a car and we usually just go park somewhere and talk"

"Talk? Come on, Donnie and I used to use that excuse"

"No seriously. We just talk"

"Whatever" I said shaking my head, knowing that Mike and Nicole were doing more than just talking. Mike talks to Donnie, then Donnie talks to me, so I always knew what was going on. Nicole never gives any details anymore; "Why can't you tell me?" I asked, starting to get a little annoyed.

"I just don't want everyone to know my business"

I looked around the bleachers and shrugged my shoulders; "No one can hear us all the way up here. I tell you everything that Donnie and I do or talk about"

"We don't want everyone knowing our business, at least not until we're together that is"

I shook my head; "Whatever"

"Don't get mad"

"I'm not mad it's just that I'm your cousin, I'm pretty much your best friend. I'm not like everyone else in Odessa, I'm not gonna blab your business to the whole school. But it's alright. I'll just keep getting my information from Donnie"

"What do you mean?" she asked defensively; "What does Don tell you?"

"Everything Mike tells him"

"Oh that's just great" Nicole said getting mad; "That's wonderful"

"Calm down" I said rolling my eyes.

"So you know pretty much every time I have sex don't you?"

I tried not to laugh, but it was inevitable; "Pretty much"

"That's wonderful"

"The six of us are all one big happy family, we are all going to know each other's business sooner or later"

"Six of us? Bridgitte isn't in our click, what are you talking about?"

"You don't like Bridgitte?"

"Head cheerleader? Homecoming Queen? No I don't like her, Brian could do so much better than her"

"She is sort of annoying" I agreed and turned towards the field; "Does she even come to the practices?"

"No, but your friend Adam does!" she said laughing and pointed to the bottom of the bleachers. Adam was walking up the steps and looking for a place to sit. He noticed me and waved then started to walk up to our row; "Here he comes"

"Great" I said rolling my eyes; "I don't want to hang out with him"

"Too late"

"Hey Kelly" Adam said smiling and sat down next to me; "What's up?"

"Just watching practice"

"Yeah, your boyfriend plays right?"

"Yep. He's number twenty-six" I said pointing to Donnie who was, thankfully, not paying attention to me and who I was sitting with; "What are you doing here? I thought you hated football?"

"Just thought I'd come and look for some hot chicks" he said smiling; "Mission accomplished"

Nicole rolled her eyes and sighed heavily; "I'm gonna go down to the fence, you coming Kelly?"

"Yes" I said eagerly and stood up quickly; "See ya Adam"

"I'll come with you" The three of us walked off the bleachers and down to the fence where Nicole and I always watched the end of practices; "You come to every one of these? Everyday?" he asked standing close to me.

"Of course"

"We like to come and watch our boyfriends" Nicole stressed.

I turned to Nicole and laughed; "Boyfriends? Plural?" I asked sarcastically, but she ignored me.

"You wanna come watch my practices?" Adam asked

I turned and looked at him, confused; "What do you play?"

"Guitar"

"Oh really?" I asked, sort of interested. I love music, and have always wanted to learn how to play guitar; "You have a band?"

"Back in New York, I'm trying to get some guys together to start a band down here though"

* * *

Meanwhile, on the football field Coach Gaines ended practice and called the players over to take a knee; "Who is that?" Mike asked Donnie, nodding towards the fence at Nicole and I.

Donnie looked over and took off his helmet; "That's Adam, he's new"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, he's an asshole"

* * *

"We should hang out sometime" Adam suggested smiling at me; "Just you and me"

"I don't think so" I said, trying to focus on watching the guys on the field; "I'm pretty busy"

"Busy? With Donnie?"

"And homework, and friends and other stuff"

"I'm sure you can pencil me in" he said moving his arm around my shoulder.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, getting angry and pushed his arm off my shoulder. I moved to the other side of Nicole but Adam followed and stood next to me.

"I have to be drunk to like you?" he asked, leaning against the fence with his back towards the field.

"Just leave me alone alright? I don't know what it is with guys down here but they have no shame in trying to pick up a girl"

"We're not from Texas, you didn't forget that did you" Adam said smiling at me; "And I'm not leaving you alone"

"Yes you are. Come on Nicole" I said and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" he yelled and ran after us; "Hey you wanna go to a party with me on Friday?"

"I'm busy"

"Your going to the game? It's an away game!"

"Why does it matter? Just leave us alone" Nicole, who had been quiet the whole time Adam and I were talking, snapped.

Adam looked at me and smiled; "See ya" he said and walked away.

"What the hell is it with guys down here? Seriously?" I asked; "It pisses me off. Donnie is the only one who didn't use some corny pick up line or slick moves to get with me"

"Did you forget that you guys slept together while you were drunk the first time you met?" Nicole asked glaring at me; "Did you forget that one minor detail?"

"Shut up" I said laughing; "I mean it's not like I'm a freaking supermodel, or anything. There are hotter girls in school than me!"

"Well guys always want what they can't have"

* * *

October 7th, 1988

Tickets to tonight's game against the Midland High Bulldogs went on sale Tuesday afternoon but fans started camping out at the kiosk Sunday night. Four thousand Permian fans were packed into the visitors side of Memorial Stadium for the biggest district showdown on the season. The Bulldogs were undefeated and ready to stomp another competitor in front of an sold out crowd of eleven thousand.

After a prayer in the stadium and the coin toss Permian started the game with a thirty six yard drive. Chris Comer then scored a touchdown from the two yard line. Llyod Hill caught a thirty six yard touchdown pass, followed by another from forty nine yards, bringing the score to twenty one to zero.

By the fourth quarter the score was thirty five to zero and we never let up or made it easy for the Bulldogs. Brian, who was nervous and scared to walk on the field that night, got into a fight with the other teams' players - curse words, pushing, and shoving were a common sight with number four right in the middle of it all. Cornerback Stan Wilkins got a bad thigh bruise during the game that required him to wear a special pad and was given medication that made him throw up the whole way home.

The final score of the Bulldog game was forty two to zero. The win raised the Panther's record to a perfect 2-0 in the district.

After the game Nicole and I drove back to Odessa to celebrate with the team.


	16. Game 6: Abilene

Chapter 16

Game 6: Abilene

October 21st, 1988

A few days after the Bulldog game Republican presidential candidate George Bush came to the Midland-Odessa area for a campaign appearance. Permian fans were still at Ratliff stadium waiting in line for tickets to next weeks game however. As they waited for Air Force II everyone snacked on free hot dogs and coke that were laid out on picnic tables, free for the taking. Five hundred people showed up for the five minute speech. We didn't go.

The sixth game of the season was against the Abilene High Eagles. When Boobie found out that he was cleared to play his attitude and cockiness came back. By now no one cared about Boobie, everyone was ready to move on with the season with the new star of the team, Chris Comer.

Mike, who is now leading the district in passing and has cut his interceptions down to zero, completed his first two touchdown passes to Chris Comer. Boobie was put in to play the second quarter. He gained four yards on one play, two yards on another, and then blocked as Comer scored his third touchdown bringing the score to twenty eight to zero at the half.

Boobie carried the ball eight more times in the second half, but played tentatively and found playing again to be a struggle. He took the ball at third and two at the Abilene twenty three yard line. He ran up the middle and broke several tackles for eight more yards and a first down. A few plays later Boobie left the game, limping off the field with a cramp in his leg and couldn't return to finish the game.

The final score was forty nine to zero. The boys in black were unstoppable.

* * *

"So are you coming out tonight?" Nicole asked as we filed out of the stadium after the game.

"Yeah I can come out" I said nodding my head; "But I wanna stop by my house first"

"For what? You look fine" she said taking her her keys out of her pocket; "Oh" she said realizing what I was talking about; "Vodka?"

I nodded; "And her friend Jack"

"Whatever" she said getting into her truck; "I don't want to be out late tonight"

"Why not?"

"I have a test on Monday I want to study for"

"Study on Sunday"

"No, Mike and I are going to spend Saturday after the meeting and practice together and study then"

"What class is this for?"

"English"

"Do I have this test?"

Nicole laughed; "You don't know if you have a test on Monday?"

"I don't pay attention"

"That's why your grades are horrible"

"My grades aren't horrible"

"What do you think you'll have on your report card next week?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll have C's and D's"

"Are you still applying to NYU?"

"I'm mailing out my application on Monday"

"Good luck" she said sarcastically. We drove from the stadium to the field house at the high school to see Mike and Donnie before heading back to my house.

"Good game" I said giving Donnie a big hug when we came outside.

"Thanks babe" he said kissing me; "Ready to go?"

"No, I'm going to go the house real quick. I want to grab some drinks"

"Alright I'm gonna give Mike a ride then so we'll meet you over there" he said looking over his shoulder. Mike was leaning against Donnie's car with his arms around Nicole; "Hurry. I don't want to have to hose him down" he whispered.

"Alright" I said laughing and gave him a kiss; "See you later love"

Donnie took off his hat and put it on my head, then grabbed my hand and pulled me closer; "You better be ready" he whispered and squeezed my ass.

Donnie and I haven't spent much alone time together lately because all six of us have been hanging out after school and on the weekends. When I sleep over at his house we've been so tired at the end of the night that we fall asleep early. It didn't bother either one of us that we haven't been intimate but Donnie and I agreed it was time for a good night alone; "I'm ready" I said smiling at him; "Come on Nicole" I yelled over my shoulder; "See you later Mike"

"Bye guys" Mike said getting in Donnie's car. Donnie peeled out of the parking lot and headed towards Nick's house.

"I'm telling you, I want to be home early tonight" Nicole reminded me.

I laughed and rolled my eyes; "I hear ya"

* * *

When we got to my house I ran through the back door and down to my room. I grabbed a change of clothes, a sweatshirt and the bottles of Vodka and Jack Denials and stashed them in my book bag; "How was the game?" my mom asked leaning against the washer that sat outside my room.

"It was fun" I said turning around, trying not to act obvious; "We won"

"I heard. Are you going out tonight?"

"Yeah, if that's okay. I'll be back in the morning"

"This is the last time you are going out until your grades come up"

"What?" I asked throwing my arms in the air; "Why?"

"Because I told you I didn't care what you did as long as your grades didn't slip but Kevin has been telling me about your math class"

"That's just one class. That doesn't mean I'm failing"

"That's one class too many Kelly"

"Well mom that's fair. I _have_ to go to the football games. Can I reschedule my punishment for after the football season?" I asked laughing; "You won't ground me. You never have"

"I'm serious Kelly. When I get your report card next week if there is one grade below a B you are grounded"

"Below a B?" There was no way that was happening; "Well what about the football games? What about Donnie?"

"Sorry Kelly"

"Mom that's not fair! Nicole gets to go out with Mike!"

"Do you want to stay home tonight?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No!"

My mom sighed; "Then stop talking and go meet Donnie"

"Really?" I asked smiling at her. My mom always had a soft spot for two people who wanted to be together. Her mother kept her from my dad when they were in high school together; "Thanks mom!" I said giving her a big hug.

"Yeah yeah" she said turning around and started to do laundry; "Have fun"

"I will!" I yelled running up stairs.

"Be careful! I love you!"

I didn't hear her, I was already outside and running for Nicole's truck.

* * *

"Maybe we should start going to someone else's parties" Nicole said as we turned onto Nick's street; "I'm getting kind of tired of the same routine"

"What?" I asked sneaking a sip of Jack Daniel's; "Why would you joke about that?"

"Don't you get tired of coming to the same party every week with the same people?"

"No"

"I think it's getting old"

"Well you wanna know what I think?"

"No"

I ignored her; "I think you don't like it anymore because Mike doesn't like it"

Nicole laughed and pulled into Nick's driveway: "I didn't say that!"

"You should let loose a little bit. We're young. This is what high school is about"

"It's hard to let loose with all the pressure that's put on us"

I took another sip of the J.D. and shook my head; "Whatever" I walked inside the house with Nicole behind me. I knew she was coming to this party reluctantly and would end up leaving early; "I'm gonna go find Donnie!" I yelled over the music.

I walked outside and found most of the football team hanging out already drunk. They hand girls at their sides already, and they were hanging onto them as if their life depended on it. To be honest it was getting old. The same girls throwing themselves at the same players every week made me sick. I was glad Donnie was loyal and that I could trust him not to get swept up in the hype anymore. I walked around for a bit then ran into Adam; "Glad you showed up" he said handing me a beer.

"Uh... no thanks I'm good. What are you doing here?"

"I'm not allowed to be here?" he asked opening the beer he had just offered me; "What? Are only football players and their girlfriends allowed to these things?"

I laughed; "No, just thought maybe you had band practice or something to get to"

"I was earlier. Nick and I started a band"

"Oh. So your going to be at all of Nick's parties now aren't you?" he nodded his head, smiling; "Guess Donnie and I have to find new parties to go too" I said with a laugh; "Just kidding"

"Donnie already did. I saw him leave a little bit ago with some blonde"

"What?" I asked, annoyed; "Seriously?"

"Yeah uh..Viki or Valerie or something"

"Valerie?" I asked, surprised.

"Some name that started with a 'V', I'm not really sure. Anyway I gotta go"

"Yeah, alright" I said trying not to show any emotion in front of someone I didn't really know; "I'll see you later"

"Are you okay?" he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Yep" I said smiling; "I'm gonna go get a drink"

I stormed back inside fuming, a million questions going through my head about why Donnie would have left with Valerie and what they could be doing. I walked through the living room trying to find Nicole, but gave up and went into the kitchen. I made myself a screwdriver and swallowed it down quickly, then made myself another; "Kelly!" Brian yelled walking into the kitchen; "Where have you been?"

"I've been here"

He came over and gave a hug; "Is Nicole here?"

"Yeah her and Mike are probably alone in a corner somewhere talking" I teased rolling my eyes; "Is Bridgitte here?" I didn't really care if Bridgitte was here or not, but I couldn't be mean to one of my friend's girlfriends.

"She's upstairs" he replied; "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah" I took a sip from my screwdriver; "Do you know where Donnie is?"

"He uh gave Valerie a ride home"

"Why did he do that?"

"She got sick. Her friends ditched her and she didn't have a ride home"

"Oh" I said, looking down at my cup awkwardly; "I'm gonna go wait for him outside"

"No stay inside. Come on, he'll be back soon" Brian said, moving in front of the doorway to the living room, stopping me from going anywhere.

I laughed; "Brian. Move"

"No, come on. Stay. Make yourself another drink"

"But-"

"Listen" he said, cutting me off; "I know you want to scream at him as soon as he walks in the door but you should get shit faced and have a good time" he said and started to laugh, then opened another beer; "It will piss him off"

I rolled my eyes; "Fine" I knew if I did go outside to wait for Donnie Brian wouldn't let me sit out there alone for very long. I chugged my screwdriver and looked at Brian who was waiting for a response; "I'll be there in a minute"

* * *

I made myself another drink then found Brian and Bridgitte in the crowd of people in the living room. They were dancing together to the beat of the music, each with a beer in one hand; "Can I cut in?" I yelled to Bridgitte. She looked at me surprised but moved aside so I could shake my ass with Brian a bit. I had a good buzz going already and I was looking to have fun at anyone's expense. Another guy came up to me and started to dance with me a few minutes later; "You can have your Mexican back" I teased, smiling at Brian.

"I'm Alan" he said smiling at me and put his hands around my waist; "What's your name?" he yelled over the music.

"I'm Kelly. I haven't seen you around"

"Really? I'm on the football team!"

Part of me was excited for Donnie to walk in the door and see me dancing with one of his teammates but part of me was nervous that Donnie would beat the shit out of him too; "I've never seen you play"

"I'm the kicker"

"Oh. That's probably why"

"Yeah, your more into tailbacks right?" he asked laughing.

I took another gulp of my screwdriver; "You could say that"

"Where is he tonight anyway I haven't seen him"

"He decided to give his ex-girlfriend a ride home"

"Nice" he said looking over my shoulder; "Well I think he just showed up"

"What?" I asked turning around and saw a bunch of girls crowding the front door.

"Your not on his arm I guess that means he's available" Alan said laughing; "It was nice to meet you" he said giving me a sideways hug.

It was good to know there were at least a few "good guys" in Odessa that weren't just interested in getting in my pants, or pissing Donnie off. I walked back over to Brian; "Look who decided to show up"

"Go easy on him" he said then went back to dancing with Bridgitte.

I walked through the crowd of people and up to the front door. Girls stepped aside and stared at me, but I kept my eyes on Donnie. Someone had already handed him a beer and he was busy talking with a girl who found whatever he was saying hysterically funny. Finally he saw me and turned to me with a smile on his face; "Hey baby!"

"Hey" I said calmly and stood next to him; "What's so funny?" I asked looking at Donnie and the girl he was talking with; "What did I miss?"

"Nothing" the girl said, giving me a nasty look.

"She was just leaving" he said putting his arm around me.

The girl was surprised that he had just brushed her aside; "Donnie! Donnie?"

"Come on, let's go" he said ignoring the girl; "Are the guys out back?"

"Brian is dancing with Bridgitte but I don't know where Mike and Nicole are" he kept drinking as we walked through the house and out the back door; "How many have you had already?"

"I don't know. Six?" he said taking another gulp; "Where were you earlier?"

"I went to my house like I told you" I explained; "Where the hell have you been?"

"Huh?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was joking or if he honestly didn't know what I was talking about; "Are you mad?"

"When I got here I found out you gave Valerie a ride home"

"Who told you?"

"Adam and Brian"

We ran into a few more of Donnie's teammates outside and started drinking with them; "Your not mad about it are you?" he asked as we all stood there talking over one another.

"Depends. Did you guys do anything?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Well you do you have a history of sleeping with girls when your drunk" I said sarcastically, talking about myself; "Remember?"

Donnie smiled; "Oh I remember"

"Shut up. I'm mad at you. Seriously"

"You can't stay mad at me and you know it" he said, giving me one of his trademark smiles. He took his Mojo hat off my head that I was still wearing from earlier and put it back on; "Relax. Nothing happened. I just drove her home. She was sick the whole time. We didn't even talk"

"You promise?"

"Promise"

"Promise on state?"

Donnie laughed and hugged me; "I promise on state"

"Okay" I replied and leaned on him; "Just stay away from her"

"Stay away from her?"

"Yeah. You know what? Just stay away from all the girls"

"I've been trying, but they just love me"

I glared at him; "Try harder"

"I will" Donnie finished his beer; "I love you"

"I love you too"

"Promise?"

"Yeah" I said laughing.

"Do you promise on state?" he teased.

"Shut up" I said laughing.

"Can you get me another beer? There aren't any more out here"

I rolled my eyes; "Fine. But you better be here when I get back"

"I'm not going anywhere"

"Give me your keys"

"What?"

"Give me the keys"

"Why?" he asked digging his pocket for the keys.

"Because" I said taking them out of his hand; "I need a ride to your house later and I want to make sure you get me there" I said and turned and walked back inside.

* * *

A few hours later Donnie and I were still partying in the backyard with the football team. Mike and Nicole left to spend the night together in another hotel. The four of us teased them about still using the "just talking" line when we all knew more was going on between them then they were telling us.

"You wanna get out of here?" I asked Donnie, leaning against the kitchen counter. I stopped drinking about an hour ago but Donnie was still in party mode.

"Why do you wanna go already?" he asked wrapping his arm around my waist; "We just got here"

"It's three a.m."

"Shit" he said laughing.

"Billingsley!" someone yelled coming up from behind him. He bumped into Donnie and he accidently spilled his beer on me; "Oh. Shit. Sorry"

"Sorry Kelly" Donnie said finishing what was left in his cup.

I sighed and looked down at my shirt; "It's alright. I guess"

"What's up Nick?" Donnie asked looking at the kid who had run into him.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm shutting down the party early tonight, man" he replied laughing.

_"Early? Why does everyone think it's early?" _I thought to myself, still looking down at my shirt. I shrugged my shoulders and took it off. I had a black see-through lace bra on underneath; "I'm gonna go rinse this out"

"Huh?" Donnie asked turning to me; "What are you doing?"

"She took her shirt off" Nick answered for me. He was staring at my chest as he spoke; "You can go dance on that table over there if you want" he stuttered.

"Hey!" Donnie yelled, and elbowed him in the stomach; "Watch it"

"I'm gonna go rinse my shirt off" I repeated; "Is the bathroom upstairs?"

"Yeah. First door on the right at the top of the stairs" Nick replied, still staring; "I don't think we've met" he said smiling at me, finally looking me in the eye.

"We haven't. But I've been here every week. I'm Kelly"

"Nice to meet you" he said and tried to move closer to me.

"You guys are so drunk" I said laughing and turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"Donnie" Nick started, opening another beer; "I was just joking about shutting the party down early man"

"Good" Donnie said chugging the last of his beer.

"Listen, there's a spare bedroom upstairs if you and your girl need a minute"

"Seriously man?" Donnie asked taking another beer out of the case and opened it; "You sure?"

"Your girl is fucking hot" he replied, and Donnie just stared at him; "But I heard about you almost getting caught by your dad. Can't let that happen again can we?"

Donnie laughed; "I guess not..."

"Go up there and do your thing then get out of here alright?"

"Thanks man" he said and stared to walk out of the kitchen.

"But Donnie"

"Yeah?" he asked turning around.

"Don't be messy"

"Never" he said laughing and ran upstairs to catch up with me. He walked up to the bathroom door and knocked a few times; "Kelly? Baby you in there?"

I turned off the water and rung out my shirt. I stole one of the towels from the nicely decorated bathroom and wrapped my shirt in it then stashed it in my bag; "Coming!" I yelled and opened the door; "What are you doing up here?"

"You" he said moving closer to me. The familiar scent of alcohol was on his breath, and the familiar caress on my lower back sent chills through my body; "Come on" he whispered in my ear and took my hand.

"Where are we going?" I asked following him into the hallway.

"Spare bedroom" he explained taking another chug from his beer.

"Seriously?" I squealed; "How dangerous. I like it"

As soon as we got into the room Donnie shoved me against the door and pressed his body against mine. We started making out and undressing each other, not sure of how much time we had before someone walked in on us; "Come on baby" Donnie said unhooking my bra and walked over to the bed. He laid down and I strattled him and started to jerk him off; "Get me hard baby" he whispered.

"I love you Donnie" I make it a point to remind him right before we have sex.

"I love you too" he said then sat up and took his beer off the night-stand and took another swig; "You want the rest?"

"I'm good" I said shaking my head and laid down; "Can we hurry?"

"Oh, is someone horny?" he asked taking his wallet out of his jean pocket.

"Maybe" I said and moved my hand down to my clit and started playing with myself while Donnie put a condom on; "I'm just getting it wet for you" I said, breathing heavy in pleasure.

"Mmm" Donnie moaned and slid himself inside me; "Home sweet home"

I giggled and wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him closer; "Fuck me hard Donnie" I said, locking my eyes on his. Donnie took his command and continued to thrust back and forth at a very steady, very hard pace. On occasion he fondled my breasts and played with my clit. All the stimulation was too much and I couldn't stop moaning and yelling; "Yes! Oh! Harder!"

"Shh" Donnie said laughing.

I could still hear the bass from the speakers downstairs and knew no one could hear us; "Come on! I'm gonna come soon!" I said digging my nails in Donnie's back; "Fuck me Donnie!" I reached my orgasm a few moments later then we switched positions. Donnie pulled out and laid down, almost falling out of the bed; "Your fucking wasted" I said and pulled the blanket up over my shoulders then positioned myself over him and slide his dick back inside me; "You like that?"

Donnie grabbed my hips and I started to rock back and forth, slow at first to tease him, then harder and faster to get him off; "Did you hear that?" I asked turning my head; "I thought I heard something"

"I didn't hear anything!" Donnie said, moaning; "I'm close, don't stop!" I continued to work until he came inside me then relaxed and snuggled his head against the pillow; "Amazing" he said, closing his eyes with a big smile on his face.

I laughed as I got off Donnie and sat on the edge of the bed; "_Your_ amazing" I replied and stood up.

Donnie smacked my ass when I got up; "Ready to go to my house babe?"

"Been ready" I said and started to pick our clothes up off the floor while Donnie stayed laying on the bed; "Get dressed" I said laughing.

Just then the door flew open and Brian walked in with Bridgitte hanging onto him, her hands around his neck, her legs locked around his waist; "Brian!" I screamed and grabbed Donnie's and held it over my chest and used my hand to cover my bottom.

"Thanks for knocking Chavo!" Donnie yelled throwing the blankets over him.

"We're not looking, just get out" Brian said calmly and walked over to the dresser and set Bridgitte down. They started to make out and caress each other while Donnie and I got dressed.

"You got a really classy girl there Brian" I said sarcastically but they both ignored me. I walked out of the room disgusted that she would let her boyfriend make out and touch her in the same room as his teammate and his girlfriend.

"Here" Donnie said handing Brian a condom.

"Thanks" Brian said smiling at Bridgitte.

"We won't be needing that. I'm on the pill" she said unbuttoning her shirt then turned to Donnie; "Leave" she ordered.

Donnie laughed; "Have fun Chavo" He grabbed his beer off the night-stand then ran after me downstairs.

October 26th, 1988

I sat in my room drinking, pissed off, upset, and trying to focus on my math homework. The more I drank the more the numbers scrambled on the page and it was obvious I wasn't going to finish it.

Report cards got mailed out today. I skipped going to football practice with Nicole because I wanted to be home before my mom. I wanted to steam heat open the envelope and change my grades before she saw my report card. Unbeknownst to me she came home on lunch break for the sole purpose of collecting Kevin and I's report cards. I got a D in math, a C- in chemistry and an F in Spanish. I tried to explain to her that the F in Spanish didn't mean anything since I already had more than enough credits to graduate.

Whatever I said and no matter how much I begged I was grounded for thirty days. There was nothing I could do about it. I had to go to school and come home right after. No football practices, no games, and no parties for the next month.

October 28th, 1988

Tonight's game was against Dallas Jesuit but I wasn't allowed to go. My mother made me sit in the living room with her and listen to the game on the radio to ensure I wouldn't sneak out. The final score was forty eight to two. It was a big win, and I wish I was there to great Donnie at the field house after the game like Nicole and Bridgitte were for Mike and Brian. Donnie wished I was there too. He was quiet the whole evening, not even speaking to Brian before the game. He walked out of the field house and to his car without saying a word to anyone.

Around eleven thirty my mom passed out on the couch with the radio announcers still talking about the win over Dallas. Kevin had gone to the game and was spending the night at a friend's house. I told Nicole to meet me at the end of my street at midnight so she could take me to Nick's party. Nothing was keeping me from Donnie on a Friday night.

I walked upstairs like normal. If I got caught I didn't want to look suspicious and could always use the excuse that I came upstairs to go the the bathroom. I crept around the corner of the kitchen and peered into the living room. My mom was still passed out., snoring. She had work early in the morning and I thought as long as I got _out_ of the house, I wouldn't have a problem getting back in the next morning since she wouldn't even be here.

I opened the back door slowly and quietly. I held my breath as I opened the squeaky screen door and stepped onto the porch. I closed the door and locked it behind me, then shut the screen door. I tip toed off the porch then put the hood on my sweatshirt up over my head, crossed my arms, and walked quickly to the end of my street; _"Gotta get use to the this the next few weeks"_ I thought and stood on the corner in the dark, waiting for Nicole.


	17. It's OfficialOfficially Over

Chapter 17

It's Official...Officially Over

November 2nd, 1988

I managed to sweet talk my mom into letting me go out Halloween night for a party at Nick's. Donnie and I dressed up in matching cowboy and cowgirl outfits and partied until morning with Brian, Bridgette, Nicole and Mike.

My grades were improving, I was studying and doing all of my homework but during the week I would skip class when Donnie had lunch so we could go to his house for a quickie and a drink. All of the sneaking around gave me a rush and all of the times Donnie told me he missed me at practices made me melt. I've never been so happy in my life, despite the fact that I haven't talked to anyone from New York since I moved.

It was Wednesday night, my mom had off of work, and Kevin was in his room studying. I sat in the kitchen picking at a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, bored out of my mind; "Hey mom?" I asked looking across the table at her.

"Yes?" she replied, not looking up from the newspaper she was reading; "What is it?"

"Do you need anything from the store?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Well I could drive down there and pick something up if you need something"

My mom turned the page of the newspaper, still not looking up at me; "Look to see if we have milk"

I jumped out of my seat to check; "We don't!" I said excitedly; "Can I go to the store?"

She finally looked up at me and sighed; "Did you do your homework?"

"Yes"

"Do you have any tests this week?"

"Not until Friday"

My mother sighed and reached around to the back of the chair into her purse; "Make sure you get two percent" she said handing me her keys.

"Thanks mom!" I said hugging her, then took the keys.

"Wait a minute!"

"What?"

"Where's Donnie"

"Um...probably just getting out of practice. Why?"

"You swear you haven't snuck out of this house right?" she drilled me, I couldn't figure out what she was trying to get at; "Have you?"

"No" I answered. I wasn't lying, I just wasn't telling her about sneaking into the house during lunch; "Why?"

My mom looked at her watch then back at me; "Do you promise to be back by nine?"

"I'm just going to get milk"

"Go see if Donnie is home" she smirked and went back to reading her paper; "But if you get here a minute past nine, that's thirty more days" she said, sternly; "I mean it!"

"I'll be here at quarter of, I promise" I said with a huge smile on my face.

"And fill up the tank while your out, I have to get to work in the morning. Now go. Have a good time"

* * *

I pulled up to the grocery store and got a few dollars out of my bag, just enough to cover a gallon of milk. As I got out of the car I saw Mike walk into the grocery store with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his football jacket. I shut the door and took a deep breath before going inside. Chances are Mike was here for the same reason I was - to pick up something for his mother. I almost considered going to the other grocery store in town but instead I grabbed a cart and walked inside.

Walking quickly through the isles to get to the dairy case in the back of the store I kept my eyes peeled for Mike. I didn't want to run into him today. I grabbed the milk, ditched the cart, and made a B line for the checkouts. As I stood there I kept my eyes on the floor but all of my precautions failed when Mike got in line behind me. "I can't ignore him" I thought; " I turned to him and smiled; "What's up Mike?"

"Hey Kelly"

"What are you doing?" I asked. I obviously knew what he was doing, he was in a grocery store. What else do you do when your in a grocery store?

"Getting milk and bread for my mom"

"Yeah" I said, nodding nervously and placed my items on the counter.

"I thought you were grounded?" he asked as the cashier rung up my order.

"I guess errands don't count as being gronded" I smirked; "Well I gotta go"

"Hey wait, I wanted to ask you something"

"Shit. Was I being that obvious" I thought to myself; "What's up?"

"Do you know where Nicole is at tonight?"

"Um...no" I replied. At that very moment I wanted to be anywhere else in the world but standing at the check out in the grocery store lying to Mike; "Why?"

"I tried calling her earlier, her mom said she wasn't home" he replied, taking his bag off the counter. We started to walk out of the store together; "I asked her in school if she wanted to go out to eat with me after practice"

"She went to practice right?"

"Yeah but she left early. I hope everything is okay"

We stood in the front of the store for a moment, looking out across the parking lot. I couldn't let Mike worry about Nicole; "Mike she's on a date" I said bluntly, not knowing any other way to put it; "She went to the movies with Ben Wiser"

Mike looked out into the parking lot shaking his head; "Okay"

"I'm sorry"

"What are you sorry for?"

"Telling you"

He sighed and looked at me; "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is she on a date?"

"I don't know" I said with a laugh, I was sort of angry at Nicole at this point. She had asked me to cover for her, and not say anything to Mike but she didn't tell me she made plans with Mike first, then blew him off for Ben; "I don't know what she's thinking"

"Well I gotta go, my momma is waiting in the car"

"Hey she's coming over to my house tonight at around eight to drop something off if you want to meet us over there, to talk or something"

"Oh I don't have a car -"

"I'll come pick you up"

"You sure?"

"Yeah don't worry about it. I'll see you later. Tell your mom I said 'hi'"

"I will. Thanks Kelly"

* * *

I sped back to my house where I dropped off the milk for my mom then headed over to Donnie's to surprise him. I pulled into his driveway and walked up to the front door. After I rang the doorbell I stood outside for what felt like forever, his dad's car was in the driveway so I knew someone had to be home. I went to ring the doorbell again but then the door flew open and I was face to face with Charlie; "Hi Charlie" I said cheerfully; "Is Donnie home?"

"Kelly right?" he asked tilting his head to one side.

I noticed the bottle of beer in his hand; "Yep"

"Sorry, Donnie is busy"

"Oh okay well can you just tell him I stopped by"

"Sure"

"Dad! Who's at the door?" I heard Donnie yell from inside.

Charlie sighed then walked away from the door; "One of your girls is here"

Donnie walked over to the door and a big smile spread across his face when he saw me; "She's my only girl dad!" he yelled at Charlie, then came outside laughing; "What are you doing here?"

"My mom had me go get milk and she told me I could stop by and see you" Donnie gave me a big hug then sat down on the steps in front of his house; "What are you doing tonight?" I asked as our hands naturally found each other's and our fingers intertwined.

"I have to study"

"Yeah join the club. My grades have to be better the next marking period or I'm never going to another game"

"Don't say that" Donnie said glaring at me; "Seriously, don't say that"

"Well I'm going to try to make the game this week. I'll be at the party for sure though. Nothing is keeping me from you on a Friday night" All of the sneaking out and lack of physical contact with Donnie was getting to me - I couldn't wait to be with him on Friday!

"Good" he said then leaned over and kissed me. We started making out for a bit until Charlie opened the front door; "Dad!" Donnie yelled and we both stood up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Charlie asked, looking around; "Make the neighbors start talking. Get in here. I made dinner"

"I'll be in in a minute dad" Donnie said putting his arm around my waist. I looked up at Charlie and smiled awkwardly; "I'll be in in a minute" Donnie repeated, and Charlie walked back into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Donnie and I kissed on the porch before he went inside to eat dinner, and I left to pick up Mike. I hated not being able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I missed Donnie more than anything and was going to make sure that if I did miss Friday's game, it was going to be the only one I missed. With only three more games in the regular season and playoffs around the corner I had to be there to support the team.

* * *

I expected to spend more time at Donnie's so I took my time driving to Mike's. I enjoyed the drive, It had gotten dark out and the temperature dipped below fifty, it was beautiful out. I pulled up to Mike's and was about to get out and walk to the door when I saw him walk outside; "I was gonna come get you" I said starting my car again once he got in.

"Oh that's alright" he replied, nervously; "Don't worry about it"

I shrugged it off and started to drive back to my house; "So. What are you going to say to my cousin?" I was being nosey and wanted to know what Nicole had coming to her; "Don't be mad at her"

"I'm not. I'm gonna ask her out"

"But Mike, the season isn't over!" I joked; "You can't be boyfriend and girlfriend yet!"

All the way back to my house Mike and I talked about football - once you get him started it's hard to make him stop talking! When we got to my house I ran inside and dropped the keys off at the kitchen table, then grabbed a sweatshirt. My mother was already sleeping so I sat on the porch with Mike until Nicole showed up; "I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how she's going to react when she sees you here" I warned, pulling my sweatshirt over my head.

"It's alright" he replied, anxiously watching the cars pass in front of my house until Nicole finally pulled into my driveway in her pick up truck; "There she is" he said under his breath.

"Relax" I said putting my arm around him; "Smile? For me?" Mike looked over at me and seemed to relax a bit, but he wouldn't smile for me. I got up and walked over to Nicole's truck, she was still sitting in the driver's seat; "What's up? Got the movie?"

"Yeah" she said and handed me a VHS tape of home movies that my mother wanted to borrow; "What are you doing out? I thought you were grounded?"

"I had to go get milk for mom" I replied looking towards the front door of my house; "Then I picked up Mike"

Nicole looked at me with her mouth hanging open; "What? Why did you pick up Mike?"

"I ran into him at the grocery store. He asked about you and-"

"You told him?" she interrupted; "I told you not to tell him anything!"

"Nicole I can't do that! He was worried about you! You didn't tell me that you made plans with him first either! What were you thinking?"

She didn't say anything, instead she took her seat belt off and leaned her head against the headrest; "I was thinking about how I've liked Ben since middle school" she replied with a laugh; "All I could think about while I was there was how I'd rather be with Mike"

"Tell him"

"Yeah, I'll tell him tomorrow in school"

"Tell him now"

"No, I can't. It's too late to call his house"

"He's here"

"What do you mean he's here? At your house?"

"Yeah. I brought him over here so you guys could talk" I explained and turned towards the house; "Mike! Come here!" I yelled.

"Kelly, no! I can't talk to him now!" Nicole refused, getting out of the truck; "What do I say to him?"

"Tell him what you told me" I said and hugged her; "Relax. He's not mad. Just tell him how you feel" I whispered then stepped back; "It's okay" I said smiling at her.

Nicole turned and looked at Mike; "Hi" she said quietly.

"Hi" he replied, just as quiet.

"Well I'm...gonna... go inside" I stammered; "Can you give Mike a ride home?"

"Yeah. I will" she said looking at Mike, practically ignoring me.

"See you guys tomorrow" I said with a laugh and went back inside my house. I was left to wonder the rest of the night what happened between Mike and Nicole.

* * *

November 5th, 1988

I went to school the next day anxious to see Mike and Nicole to get details. Donnie gave me a ride that morning and when he went to hang out with his teammates before homeroom I circled the parking lot trying to find them. I finally found Nicole's truck and saw the two of them holding hands and smiling at each other; "Am I looking at the newest couple at Permian?" I asked, standing in front of them with my arms crossed; "How cute"

They both turned to me and laughed; "Yeah. You are" Mike said smiling. It made me happy to finally see him smile a sincere smile. I don't think I've ever seen him this happy, even after winning football games.

"Congratulations! Welcome to the club" I teased Nicole sarcastically.

"Yeah. Good to be back" she replied rolling her eyes, referring to her previous relationship with Walter; "It's gonna be nice not to have to hide the fact that we like each other" she explained.

"I'm gonna go find Donnie" Mike said, and kissed Nicole's cheek before he left.

"Do I get a kiss Mike?" I asked as he walked past me. He just shook his head and kept walking; "Fine! Forget you Mike!"

"Why do you make fun of him?" Nicole asked, grabbing her bag off the hood of her truck.

"If he's your boyfriend that means I'm allowed to tease him like a brother. Your allowed to do the same thing with Donnie"

Nicole looked confused and rolled her eyes; "Whatever"

"So what did he say when he asked you out?"

"Who?"

"Mike" I replied obviously; "Who else?"

"Oh. Well he said that he couldn't stand the thought of me out with another guy. He said that's when he realized we should be together"

"I'm really happy for you. Seriously"

"I'm happy too. He's a good egg"

"Yeah, we'll keep him" I joked as we walked inside; "See ya later"

* * *

November 6th, 1988

The 8th game of the season was against the Cooper Cougars in Abilene. I didn't sneak out and go to the game because my mother probably would have murdered me if she learned I went out town for a football game. Instead, I listened to the game on the radio with Kevin.

In the second play of the game Chris Comer went sixty four yards for a touchdown. Boobie finally scored his first touchdown of the season - from the first yard line. In the third quarter Abilene scored two touchdowns back to back but we retaliated by scoring two touchdowns of our own, bringing the final score to fifty six to fourteen. The Permian Panthers record was now 7-1.

* * *

The football team had a private jet chartered for them so they were back in town to hit the parties in under an hour. Forever everyone else it was a three hour drive from Abilene back to Odessa. I waited at the end of the street like usual for Nicole to pick me up. When she finally got there I jumped in the passenger seat and cranked up the heat; "Where the hell were you? It's freezing outside!"

Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled away from the curb; "Shut up" she said laughing; "Did you listen to the game?"

"Yep" I said holding my hands up to the heat vents; "I'd show you Donnie's home jersey that I'm wearing under my sweatshirt but I might turn into a popsicle"

"It's not even forty out!"

"It's a lot colder when your just standing out there!"

"Well don't get grounded and you we won't have this problem" she said heading towards Nick's house; "Why didn't Donnie pick you up when he got back anyway?"

"His dad has the car"

"Yea but Brian has a car. They could have come and gotten you"

I shrugged my shoulders; "I don't know. It's no big deal. Anyway, are you and Mike going to stick around tonight?"

"We might" Nicole said, smiling; "Probably"

"Since you guys are actually together now you kind of have to be seen at the parties. It's what we do" I explained, half sarcastically, half seriously.

"Don't give me that. We don't have to do anything just because he's the quarterback and I'm his girlfriend" she said, suddenly getting defensive.

"Okay. Sorry. I was just joking" I said laughing; "What's wrong?"

"You though you had it bad when you and Donnie started dating? You have no idea what I've been going through the past two days"

"You haven't said anything. What's going on?"

"Well you know I'm not stick thin and I don't wear designer clothes" she said, starting to get more and more angry; "So they thought they could say something to me about how I don't deserve to be with Mike"

"They said that to you?"

"I overheard them in lunch"

"Don't listen to them. They're just jealous. Seriously. Mike is an amazing guy"

"He is" she said, trying to stay positive; "I tried to let it go but it hurts you know"

"I do know" I replied, remembering all the flack I went through when everyone found out Donnie and I were together; "But you really do have to just let it go. No matter what they say it's not going to change the feelings you two have for each other. The only people that matter are you and Mike"

Nicole pulled into Nick's house and shut off the car; "Yeah" she said sighing; "I guess"

"Anyway" I took my seat belt off; "Ready?"

"Did you bring any alcohol? I could use some tonight"

"No, I couldn't get out to buy anything. I guess it's beer for us tonight" I took off my hooded sweatshirt and adjusted Donnie's jersey that I wore over a long sleeve thermal shirt with tight blue jeans.

Nicole shook her head; "Ew. I had beer"

"Sorry. Next time" I said and got out of her truck; "Listen, if anyone says anything to you tonight let me know. I'll beat the shit out of them"

Nicole laughed and opened the front door to Nick's house; "Will do"

* * *

When we got inside Nicole and I did what we always do - we grabbed a drink and walked around the house looking for our men. Nicole found Mike first, standing in the same corner he always does talking to Jerrod about the game they just played; "Is Donnie outside?" I asked, as Nicole gave Mike a big hug, congratulating him.

"Yeah. Him and Brian are both out there"

I walked outside, excited to spend some quality time with Donnie after being grounded all week. I saw a group of players standing together talking and drinking with girls hanging on them. I started to walk towards them to find Donnie when out of the corner of my eye I saw a girl wearing a white Permian Panthers jersey with the number twenty six on the back; "What the fuck?" I said outloud.

She had a beer in one hand and was grinding up against someone to the music that blared through the house, but it was too dark to see who she was dancing with. They got closer to each other then started kissing. I approached the two of them and finally realized who she was making out with; "Donnie!" I yelled and pushed him off of her; "What the fuck?"

He stumbled backwards then looked at me with a shocked look on his face; "Kelly! What uh...what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? It's Friday night! I'm always here!"

I could tell the three extra hours it took for me to get here Donnie spent drinking; "Well here I am baby" he slurred and tried to put his hands around my waist.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked and slapped him across the face; "Don't touch me!"

The girl Donnie was making out with stood beside us with her hands on her hips; "That sucks" she smirked and started laughing.

"Fuck you!" I yelled and punched her, grabbing the attention of everyone who was outside, and a crowd started to form around us. I got up in Donnie's face and stared at him. I could smell the familiar scent of alcohol on his breath but tonight it annoyed me, it pissed me off and I was done with Donnie and all of his girls; "I guess promises don't mean anything to you" I spat then turned and walked away.

"Kelly!" Donnie yelled and started to walk after me; "Wait!"

"I'm going home! I'm going back to New York!" I yelled and ran inside.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs" the girl Donnie was making out with whispered, coming up to him and hung on his arm; "Let's go"

Donnie shrugged her off of him then finished drinking his beer; "No. Give me my jersey"

"But Donnie I thought we-"

"Give me my jersey please" he repeated more sternly. She took the jersey off and handed it to him, Donnie put it on over his t-shirt and handed her his empty beer bottle; "See ya"

* * *

I walked through the house quickly, trying to shove through the crowd of people that gathered in the living room; "Kelly! Where you going!" Brian yelled as I walked past him and Bridgitte; "Kelly!"

Ignoring Brian I walked through the living room and out the front door. I didn't know what to do or where to go, but I knew I was done with Donnie. All I wanted to do was get home, I didn't even care if I got caught at this point - I didn't have a reason to sneak out anymore. I started walked towards my house, forgetting to grab my sweatshirt out of Nicole's truck before I left. Tears started to flow down my cheeks the farther I walked but I realized it was making me colder in the cool air and tried my hardest to stop.

After about a half a mile I heard a car behind me and saw headlights on the road. I hoped it was Donnie coming to apologize and make everything right, but then I changed my mind and hoped it wasn't Donnie because I didn't want to go to jail for murder tonight. The car slowed down and drove next to me, I kept my eyes focused on the road; "Kelly!" Brian yelled out the passenger window that was rolled down; "Kelly! What are you doing?"

"Walking home" I replied, still looking straight ahead; "Go back to the party Brian"

"I'm not leaving you out here by yourself. Get in the car"

"I wanna be alone"

"Either get in the car or I'm following you the whole way""

I stopped walking and Brian stopped the car right next to me. I leaned down on the passenger side window; "Go back to the party. Have fun. I am going back to New York"

"No your not"

"The only reason I was staying was for Donnie" I explained; "He gave another girl his jersey and was making out with her tonight. I'm done"

"He did what?" Brian asked surprised; "Okay, I'll deal with him later. Get in, I'm driving you home"

I stood up and looked around the dark and empty back road we were on. I didn't really want to walk, I just wanted to be alone; "Fine" I said and got in; "Thanks"

"Anytime" he said laughing and started driving; "You know, Donnie can be an asshole sometimes. I'm sorry he was an asshole to you"

"It's whatever. I'll deal with it on Monday"

"When I get back I'll say something to him"

"There's no point, he's drunk. He won't listen to you"

Brian stopped at a stop sign and turned to me; "I'll make him listen. Don't worry about it okay?" Brian drove me to the end of my street and I walked the rest of the way. I had a headache and I was exhausted. I snuck in the backdoor and crept down to my bedroom where I crawled into a ball and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

November 11th, 1988

I woke up Saturday morning throwing up. My first thought was that I was pregnant and experiencing morning sickness which was then followed by more crying and confessing everything to my mother while we sat in my bedroom cleaning up puke. The pain was unbearable we went to the emergency room. The doctors concluded I had gastritis probably due to the combination of alcohol, and undercooked food that I must have consumed the past forty-eight hours. They ran a pregnancy test at the hospital which came back negative - at least I could put that thought of my mind. I spent the next four days at home sleeping and trying to keep food down.

On Tuesday night I was trying to catch up with my homework that the teachers sent home when Kevin came into the kitchen and told me someone was out on the porch for me; "Who is it?" I asked, throwing my hair into a messy bun.

"I don't know, it's some guy"

"Is it Donnie?" I asked, freaking out; "Please tell me it's not Donnie!"

"It's not" he replied laughing; "But are you gonna make him wait out there all night?"

I walked outside and saw Brian was sitting on the steps; "Brian!" I was kind of excited to see him. The only person who had come to see me was Nicole and I asked her to tell everyone where I was so I wasn't expecting anyone to come see me; "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing" he said standing up; "How are you feeling?"

"Better" I replied and sat on the steps; "Sit down" I said laughing, not used to guys being so chivalrous around me; "How have you been?"

"Busy" he said then handed me a few sheets of notebook paper; "Donnie sent these"

"I don't want them" I said shaking my head.

"Has he come to see you?"

"Nope"

Brian sighed; "I told him to come see you"

"Yeah, and I told _you_ he wouldn't listen to you"

"He's scared. He doesn't want to lose you"

"Too bad. He's man enough to play football and drink whenever he wants he should be man enough to talk to his girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend" Brian just sighed again, annoyed at his best friend's actions; "Let me guess, the girls are all over him right? Who's his new girlfriend?"

"No, he doesn't have a new girlfriend. He's been keeping to himself lately"

"That's a surprise"

"I think you need to give him another chance"

"Why?"

"Because he loves you. I know he does"

"Then why would he make out with another girl at a party?"

Brian shook his head; "Because he's stupid"

"Yeah well you don't have to tell me that" I said sarcastically; "You didn't have to come over here to play peacekeeper you know"

"I came over here to see how you were doing"

"Oh. Did you just get out of practice?"

"Yep. Big game this week"

"Midland Lee right? Good luck"

"Are you going to come to the game?"

"Probably. But for you and Mike. Not Donnie. Maybe I'll ask Adam to go to the game with me"

"Don't say that. Seriously. He's been asking about you a lot and he wanted me to drop these off, if you would just read them" he said trying to hand the sheets of paper to me again; "Just read them"

I stared at Brian, trying to get my point across that I was pissed off at Donnie and didn't want anything to do with him but Brian wasn't going to let it go; "Fine" I said giving in and took them; "But it's not going to fix anything. If he cared so much he should have come and seen me in person"

"His dad probably didn't let him out"

"Didn't have a problem letting him out on Friday night" I mumbled.

"What?" Brian asked; "What did you say?"

"Nothing" I replied with a fake smile on my face; "I didn't say anything"

"Alright. Well I gotta get home" Brian said standing up; "Glad your feeling better"

"Thanks. Thanks for stopping by"

"Anytime. I'll see you tomorrow" he said and walked off the porch but stopped halfway down the walkway and turned back around; "Kelly..."

"Yeah?" I asked, looking up from reading the notes Donnie wrote me; "What?"

"Did you know Bridgette and I broke up a few days ago?"

"No! What happened?" Inside I was sort of relieved that Brian wasn't with her anymore because I didn't like her but it made sense now why Brian was trying to get Donnie and I back together; "I'm sorry"

"It just didn't work out" he replied shrugging his shoulders; "She said I didn't have time for her with football and studying"

"Oh. Her loss"

Brian smiled; "She's dating someone from Odessa High School now. I would do anything to get her back. Donnie would do the same. Just give him the chance okay?"

I looked up at him and felt horrible hearing this from Brian. My heart ached for him, on top of all the heartache I was already feeling from Donnie; "I will" I assured him.

Brian nodded; "Good. See ya"

November 12th, 1988

The next day Nicole gave me a ride to school. We picked Mike up on the way and they both wanted to talk about what happened between Donnie and I but I kept my mouth shut; "I'm conserving my energy so when I see him I can beat the shit out of him" I told them when we pulled into the school parking lot.

"I'll help" they both replied at the same time.

"Thanks guys but I might just need you to work crowd control" I joked and got out of the truck, they like to spend a few minutes alone before heading to homeroom; "See you later!"

I made sure I looked good today. I straightened my hair and wore my tight hip huggers with an equally tight black long sleeve shirt. I brought along a t-shirt to change into if the teachers made a fuss, and one of Donnie's home jersey's was still in my bag that I planned on giving back for good today.

Walking through the crowd of people in the parking lot I heard them talking about us from the fight we had at the party on Friday. A few girls stopped and asked me if we were broken up so they could ask him out but I ignored them and kept scanning for Donnie. I finally found him standing next to the doors with Brian; "Hey guys" I said walking up to them. Donnie looked uncomfortable and I was loving every minute of it.

"Hey Kelly!" Brian said smiling at me; "Well you look...better!" he said laughing.

"Thanks for asking" I said sarcastically and glared at Donnie.

"Hi Kelly. How are you?" he asked, looking at the ground. It was pathetic to watch. Someone who could go out and play football in front of thousands of people, and who could party with the best of them, was afraid to even stand next to me.

"I've been better Donnie. Seen better days"

"I'll see you guys later" Brian said, watching the awkward moment unfold.

"Later Chavo" Donnie mumbled, Brian smiled at me before leaving then ran off to make sure he wasn't late for homeroom; "So you were sick?" Donnie asked looking up at me after Brian left.

"Yep. Gastritis. After you broke my heart on Friday I got to throw up for four days. It's been fun. How was your weekend? Parties? Girls? Drinking?"

"No!" Donnie yelled; "I spent it at home and at practice!"

Donnie's never yelled at me before; "Well that's a surprise" I spat, crossing my arms in front of me defensively; "So are we broken up or what? You with that girl now?"

"No, I'm not with her! I want to be with you!"

"Well you fucked that up. Cheater"

Donnie shifted his weight, I could tell he was getting more and more angry; "I just kissed her!"

"Oh so kissing doesn't count? You guys were all over each other and she was wearing your jersey! Who does that?" I yelled, I didn't care who was standing outside listening to us; "Did you just think I wasn't going to show up at the party and that you would get away with it?"

"No" I looked at him expecting him to say more; "I'm sorry okay? I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do it, it just happened!"

"Oh it just happened? Just like that?"

"I was drunk!"

"That excuse doesn't work for me remember?"

"I'm sorry! I've spent all weekend thinking about you! I couldn't concentrate at football practice! I couldn't sleep! Coach might bench me this week because I got so pissed off at practice yesterday I refused to practice anymore! Do you see what you do to me Kelly? When I'm not with you I'm a mess!"

"Well you weren't with me on Friday. Looks like you survived"

"Friday was a mistake! A big mistake! I'm sorry!" I sighed and looked around at the crowd of people who were standing there looking at us. The bell for homeroom rang and they started to file into the school. I looked back at Donnie, who gave me a pouty puppy dog look; "I'm sorry. It will never happen again. I promise. I can't go through what I went through the past four days again" he said taking my hand.

I looked down at our hands and had to smiled. I loved Donnie, I really did, but I didn't want to risk it again not with all the girls at Permian after him; "I don't know Donnie..."

"I love you"

"I love you too but...I don't want to get hurt again"

"You won't. Baby, I promise. I won't even look at another girl again"

"We have to go inside" I said looking around the now empty parking lot.

"What about us?"

"I'll be at practice tonight okay? I just need more time to think"

Donnie kissed my cheek; "I love you"

"You destroyed all the trust I have for you. I don't know if I want to trust you again"

"I only want you. I don't like who I am when I'm not with you"

I nodded; "I gotta go Donnie"


	18. Breakup To Makeup

Chapter 18

Breakup To Makeup

November 3rd, 1988

After my breakup with Donnie my mother told me she knew all along about my sneaking out (and in) while I was grounded. We had a screaming match and she finally gave up and told me to just do what I wanted to do - I was eighteen and could make my own decisions. She just hoped I was prepared to face the consequences.

I no longer had the title of "Don Billingsley's Girlfriend" and the girls at school once again went on the prowl. Donnie shrugged the attention off and tried to make it right with me. He brought me flowers at school and wrote me notes that he passed to me in the halls. Donnie kept asking me if I still had his jersey. He wanted me to be in the stands wearing it this week because if there was one time that Donnie needed my support more than any other time, it would be at this Friday's game.

The Permian Panthers would face their arch-rivals this week the Midland Lee Rebels. This game would decide the district championship. If Permian won, it meant a guaranteed trip to the Texas high school football playoffs and a chance to go to state. The pressure was on and everyone in town felt it. No one dared talked to the team about anything other than Midland Lee, especially to Coach Gaines or to Mike.

Brian had already ordered a "District Champions" patch to sew onto his leather jacket, even though the game was tomorrow. The rest of the team carried the same confidence, they knew they were going to beat Midland Lee and they knew they were going to state. A four by six picture of every player who had ever went to state over the past twenty nine years hung in the field house - the fifty five players on the team this year knew there picture would hang there soon.

* * *

The entire day at school I couldn't take the smile off my face. Donnie and I were still broken up but after some long discussions with Nicole, Brian, and even Mike, I decided I should give Donnie another chance. Everyone saw that Donnie was trying to prove himself to me, and that he loved me. I just hoped everyone was right.

The football team was given the day off from school after some persuasion from the coaching staff to hold a fifteen hour practice that started at five a.m. Of course the administration wanted their hometown heroes to beat Midland Lee so, of course, the football team was given the day off to practice. I planned on going to the stadium after I got out of school to talk to Donnie, even if was only for a single moment I needed to know that we were boyfriend and girlfriend again.

* * *

After school I bummed a ride with my brother from one of his friends to the stadium; "Hey! Five bucks!" Kevin yelled from the passenger seat after I got out of the car.

"What?" I asked putting my bag on over my shoulder; "Are you guys serious?" Kevin and his friend both nodded their heads with condescending smiles on their faces; "Fine, but I only have three dollars" I said after digging in my bag then handed it over.

"That's fine" Kevin said reaching for it.

"Hold it!" I said pulling my arm away quickly; "How about this? I'll see if I can find a ten dollar bill in my pocket and you don't tell mom I'm at the football practice all night. Deal?"

Kevin and his friend looked at each other; "As long as we don't have to pick you up" he replied; "Hand it over" I reached in my pocket for the ten dollar bill and handed it to him; "What about the other three?"

"Don't be greedy Kevin" I said smiling at him; "Don't tell mom alright? I'll be home later!"

"Whatever" Kevin said rolling up his window and he and his friend peeled out, kicking dirt and stones in my direction. I coughed as the dust flew in my face and turned to the stadium. I could hear tackles being made inside, the echo of yelling and whistles being blown. I closed my eyes and took in the moment until I was interrupted by someone calling my name from behind me. I turned around and saw Jake walking towards me. Since Donnie and Brian got into the altercation with him back in August Jake hasn't bothered me much in school. I had a feeling that was going to change in a few minutes; "Hey" I said calmly "I came to watch the practice"

"I thought you and Donnie weren't together any more?"

"Um well we're getting back together" I replied, confidently; "Soon"

"Aw that's too bad" he said winking at me and waked past me into the stadium. I waited a few minutes to make sure that Donnie couldn't see Jake and I in the same vicinity. When I got inside the stadium I walked up a few rows in the bleachers and sat on the end so that when the coaches decided to call a break I could sneak down to the fence to see Donnie.

Practice continued steadily for the next few hours but I was far from bored. I sat there and watched them practice intensely, I was excited when a play was practiced without a hitch, and I was pissed off when a player messed up. Everything they felt on that field, I felt in the stands. It got me so excited for the big game!

As I watched Donnie practice I kept thinking about all of our intimate moments we had after the games. My mind started to wonder and before I knew it I was fantasizing about having sex with Donnie on the football field, with the entire Midland Lee team forced to watch. Luckily coach Gaine's whistle blew; "Ten minutes!" he yelled; "You got a ten minute break!"

I snapped out of my fantasy and ran down to the fence that separated the walkway in front of the bleachers from the sidelines. I scanned the jersey's that were crowding the water bottle stand but didn't see Donnie; "Chavez!" I yelled when I saw number four; "Brian!"

Brian looked up and over at me and waved, but looked confused; "Donnie?" he yelled back. I nodded my head then walked along the fence following him; "Look who's here" Brian said elbowing Donnie; "Wonder what she wants" he said with a smirk, knowing that I wanted to be back with Donnie.

Donnie looked over at me and I waved; "Do you have a minute?" I yelled. Donnie shook his head excitedly and moved away from the crowd.

"What are you doing here?" he asked hugging me against the fence.

"Watching you practice. Are you tired yet?" I laughed.

Donnie rolled his eyes; "I was tired at nine a.m. Two more hours to go"

"Well I'm sticking around for the rest of practice" Donnie smiled awkwardly. _'No point it putting it off any longer'_, I though; "Look I wanted to..." I looked up and Donnie and he was staring at me with a desperate look on his face like he would drop dead if i didn't finish my sentence; "Um...I think we should get back together. You know, f you want to that is"

"Really?" he asked, he seemed surprised; "Even after I" he stopped suddenly and shook his head; "Kelly, you sure?"

"I'll forgive but I won't forget. So don't be a dick alright? Seriously. I don't deserve to be treated like that"

"I'm sorry. I know you don't and it won't happen again. I mean it"

"Okay" I said smiling up at him; "I do love you"

"I love you too" he replied looking over his shoulder back at the field; "We'll hang out after I get done okay?"

"Alright" I said crossing my arms in front of my chest; "It's getting cold out here"

"I have my jacket in the car, it's unlocked you can go get it"

"You sure?"

"I can't have you sitting out here in the cold right?"

"Oh trust me I've been anything but cold up there watching you practice if you get what I'm saying"

"Yeah?" Donnie asked raising an eyebrow; "What you thinking about?"

"You and me. On the field" I replied seductively; "I can't wait until practice is over"

Donnie laughed; "Me either. We can go to-"

"Billingsley!" Coach Gaines yelled from the sidelines: "Let's go son! This ain't the Newlywed Game! Get over here!"

"I gotta go" Donnie said and kissed my check then ran back onto the field. I went out in the parking lot to his dad's car and got his leather jacket to wear so I would be warm the rest of practice.

When the team practice finally ended at eight there was a private team meeting and we never left the stadium until nine thirty. We grabbed some food and headed to his house where we had some amazing make up sex - thank goodness his dad wasn't home!

The game against Midland Lee was weighing heavy on Donnie's mine however. After we were done having sex he drove me home. Usually when we drive through town we turn the radio up and sing along with whatever song was playing, but tonight Donnie was tired and didn't talk the entire way.

Donnie pulled up outside my house and walked me up on the porch; "I'll see you in the morning" I said turning to him when we reached the door.

"I love you" he said hugging me.

"I love you too"

"I need to get some sleep" he said yawing; "I hope I wake up in the morning"

"Drive safe babe"

"Of course. Don't forget to wear the jersey tomorrow alright?" he said with a laugh.

"I won't Donnie" we stood there holding hands for a few minutes. Donnie had to get home to get a good nights sleep but he wasn't in a rush to leave; "You okay?"

Donnie looked at the ground, avoiding the question. He finally looked up at me; "I'm nervous"

"Nervous about the game? You'll do fine!"

He nodded; "I hope"

"You will, don't worry"

"Kind of hard not to worry when the whole town expects you to win. I gotta go"

"Alright" I said and hugged him one last time for the night; "You know, it's just a game"

Donnie laughed; "That's right....your not from around here. I forgot" he said and kissed my cheek; "Goodnight beautiful"


	19. Rivalry

November 4th, 1988

Rivalry

The next day I didn't see Donnie, Brian, or Mike, or any other member of the football team. They were given the day off from class again for another fifteen hour practice. Nicole and I sat next to each other in english class that morning; "Gee, I hope they _survive_ practice so they can play the game" I remarked looking at the front of the classroom. Our substitute teacher was wearing a Permian Panthers t-shirt; "Think he's gonna let us off the hook today?"

Nicole smiled; "I don't know about you but I've done nothing all day in all of my classes"

"That's what I like to hear" I said and put my book bag on the floor.

"So I heard you and Donnie are officially back together?" Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep" I smiled and looked down at my jersey with the white number twenty-six on it. I felt pride and love again when I wore it; "Decided to give him another chance"

"That's good. You guys really going to work it out?"

"Yeah. I guess I'll have to start setting these girls straight" I laughed; "I mean…we all make mistakes and….it could have been worse" I trailed off and thought about what I said for a moment; "I guess"

"What's wrong?"

"You think I shouldn't have taken him back?"

"I didn't say that" She protested; "I just want you to be happy. Don't second guess yourself now. You two have been through a lot in a very short amount of time" she laughed; "He loves you. You know he does. He just needs to settle down and focus on you"

"I don't think that's going to happen until after the season though"

Nicole threw her hands up and laughed; "Do you understand what Mike and I were trying to tell ya' ll now?"

I rolled my eyes; "Oh whatever. Totally not the same thing! How are you two doing anyway?"

"Good I guess. I haven't seen him much with practice. He's been staying to himself a lot too"

"Damn Midland Lee" I said, shaking my head; "Do you think we'll win?"

Nicole glared at me and crossed her arms across her chest; "Don't talk to me"

"Do she really just ask you that?" a kid who overheard our conversation asked Nicole, turning around in his seat.

"Yeah! Can you believe that! Wearing the black and white, too!" she teased and winked at me; "It's okay. She's not from around here"

"Yeah well anyone can tell"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, defensively.

"You talk really fast"

I laughed; "Yeah. I get that a lot. It's an east coast thing. You guys talk really slow though"

The kid ignored my explanation; "I mean you talk really fast without thinking about what your saying. Asking if we're going to win tonight against Midland Lee? Talk like that in town and your likely to get….hurt" he smirked; "I'll just leave it at that"

I still don't really "get" what the big deal is about Texas high school football. Donnie and I have talked about it for hours on end, I've watched the tormenting practices, and have been in the packed stadium but to me….it's still just a game.

Odessa and Midland could be called the twin cities of Texas. The towns are similar and a short half hour drive from one another. The hatred for one another runs deep and as far back and anyone in either town can remember. The people of Odessa view Midland as a town full of snobs with too much money and Midlanders think of Odessa as a city full of rednecks who drink too much beer.

Midland was once named one of the nicest places to live in American while Odessa was nicknamed "Murder Capital U.S.A." - a little bit of an exaggeration if you ask me. It's no New York City, that's for sure!

The reason for such a hatred towards one another may come from the second oil boom of the late 1970's and early 1980's. Oil prices went through the roof and for the second time in forty years the boom was on.

In both Midland and Odessa, people were making money - and lots of it. Some where making ninety grand a year and buying things they didn't need just because they could - like jets and huge homes. The oil executives thought they were in control but didn't realize it was all circumstantial. The boom was over just as fast as it had started and The First National Bank of Midland closed in 1983. This time however, Odessa didn't recover. The money was squandered in Odessa but the people of Midland saved and invested their money into their community.

If there was one place where two cities that were once identical could squash their hatred for one another once and for all, it could be on the football field. On a cold, brisk, Friday night in November to a sold out, tense, excitable crowd.

Nicole and I sat in the stands surrounded by a sea of black and white. I couldn't imagine what Donnie and the rest of the team was thinking at this very moment. The pressure that has been put on them this week, the constant asking if they had it in them to beat Midland, and the daily practices. Some members of the football team had been in and out of doctors offices all week due to exhaustion or sore muscles.

It all came down to this. If they won it was a guaranteed spot to state. If they lost it would come down to an equal advantage coin toss. Both teams took the field and the crowds on both the home and visitor side went crazy. My heart was beating a mile a minute and my eyes darted back and forth across the field, trying to keep an eye on Donnie. After the coin toss Midland Lee kicked off the game. This was it.

One team will win. One team will lose.


	20. I Don't Care

Chapter 20

I Don't Care

"This is crazy!" I yelled as soon as the ball was kicked into the air at kickoff. I've never heard the stadium this loud before, or have felt the bleachers shake like they did that night.

The home crowd was chanting and waving their white flags and handkerchiefs; "MOJO! MOJO! MOJO!"

On the opposite side of the packed stadium confederate flags filled the sky as they chanted "REBELS! REBELS! REBELS" and stomped their feet on the bleachers.

"Stand up!" Nicole yelled in my ear and pulled on my arm until I was standing next to her: "Woo hoo! Let's do this!"

"Donnie! I love you!" I screamed and Nicole laughed at me. I knew he couldn't hear me but the people who were sitting around me could and that's all that mattered. I had my Donnie back and I wanted the whole world to know. My boyfriend was playing Friday night football in the biggest showdown of the season - I couldn't wait to get my hands on him after the game and celebrate. We had some serious making up to do and all the preparation and practice for the game was getting in the way lately!

Midland Lee scored first with a small yardage hand off. Mike completed a sixty yard pass to Chris Comer, putting Permian on the board and the score to 14 - 7.

While Comer was making plays on the field, Boobie stood on the sidelines watching in disbelief. He asked Coach Gaines before almost every play to put him in but eventually realized they had no intention of playing him. He sat at the end of the bench and refused to talk to anyone and instead watched Comer do the only thing Boobie lives for. Making plays.

Midland Lee scored a surprise last minute touchdown right before halftime giving them the lead, 21 to 16.

"Shit" I mumbled and sat down on the bleachers for the first since the game started; "They aren't making this easy are they?"

"It's weird" Nicole said, shaking her head; "I don't know, I don't have a good feeling about this"

"About what?" I asked looking over my shoulder cautiously; "What do you mean?"

"Midland scoring like that right before the half. Hope they don't play like that after halftime" she laughed. I nodded my head and reached into my bag; "You didn't…" she trailed off and watched me pull a water bottle of clear liquid out of my bag. She shook her head and laughed at me; "How did you get that in here?"

"It's clear. Looks like water right?" I smiled and took a sip; "Want some?"

Nicole shook her head; "Glad to have you back though. Been pretty boring lately with you being grounded and then broken up with Donnie"

I took another sip then put it back in my back; "It's good to be back" I laughed; "After we kick Midland's ass it's gonna be a good time tonight"

"You can say that again" she agreed.

Nicole and I watched the school bands and cheerleaders perform at half time nervously waiting for the team to come back out and finish the game.

The Rebels scored early in the fourth quarter and were ahead by one point, 22-21; "Brian is pissed!" I yelled in Nicole's ear as the opposite side of the stadium erupted, and our side started booing.

"I can tell" she yelled back as we watched Brian bang his hands against his helmet in frustration. When he reached the sideline he took his helmet off and threw it to the ground. Coach Gaines had a word with him and he picked it back up but his body language from the sidelines told us he wanted to rip the heads off every member from the Rebels.

For the next thirteen minutes we stood in the bleachers with our hands held up to our mouths hoping and praying for Permian to win it. True, even if they lost there was still a chance to get to the playoffs, but we wanted a guaranteed spot.

Permian got the ball back for the last minutes of the game. Mike tried repeatedly to complete a pass to open flanker Robert Brown but it wasn't happening. In the last play of the game Mike threw a perfect spiral to Brown who stood in the end zone. The whistle blew while the ball was still in the air but if the pass was complete the touchdown would count.

Brown got tackled by a Rebel at the last possible second before the ball could reach Brown's hands. It's like the Rebel's timed it for perfect humiliation.

That was it. Permian lost to the Midland Lee Rebels by one point. Midland Lee secured a spot in the playoffs and for us it would come down to a coins toss. All of the hard work, stress, and pressure of the season and it would come down to a coin toss of a all things.

Fans of the Rebels erupted in screams and some spectators stormed the field. Our guys were laying on the ground exhausted, trying to get to their feet. Brian helped Donnie, who fumbled the ball a few times tonight, up and they walked off the field together. Everyone was humiliated as they watched the Rebels celebrate on their football field, and spit on the ground of their arch-rivals.

Angry Permian fans were throwing things onto the field, and being escorted out of the stands by the few security guards who worked the football games. Nicole and I sat next to each other quietly with our heads hanging. We felt what the entire town was feeling. Anger. Sadness. Humiliation; "We gonna go wait for them at the field house?" I asked, looking over at her.

She nodded her head; "Ready?" she sighed.

"Yeah. It's gonna be a long night either way I guess"

Nicole agreed; "Either they wanna say "fuck it" and party or -"

"Or they are going to be to angry to even talk to us?"

"Pretty much"

As Nicole and I were walking out of the stadium we passed Coach Gaine's wife, Sharon. She recognized us and gives us a sympathetic smile and a nod. Nicole and I weren't the only ones facing uncertainty tonight. When a coach does badly at coaching a season, the risk of being transferred to a different school heightens. Sharon might be uprooting her entire family soon because one football game.

"It's not just a game" Nicole smirked as we made it through the crowds of people, trying to get to her car; "Do you get it now?"

I took a deep breath and kept walking; "Yeah. I get it. This wasn't how I wanted to realize it though"

Inside the locker room worn, bloodied bodies were strewn about wherever they pleased. Mike had broken down and was crying on Brian's shoulder. Everyone wanted to tell everyone else that it was okay and that the season wasn't over yet. But no one spoke.

Finally Coach Gaines came out of his office after meeting with other members of the coaching staff in his office. He stood in the middle of the room and looked at his team. Beat, broken, and bleeding they all looked back up at him. "Listen up. Cause I'm only going to say this once, okay?" he said with a small laugh trying to ease the tension his players were feeling towards one another; "Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasn't one more thing you could've done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman…you're perfect!" Gaines looked around the room and what he had said seemed to sink in with a few of them; "Alright? I know it's a big loss but the season ain't over yet. Go home. Get some sleep. See ya'll tomorrow morning, alright?"

Everyone nodded at Coach Gaines, but no one was speaking to each other yet. They gathered their gear and left the stadium by bus to the field house where they changed back into their street clothes. When they were ready to leave the field house Mike asked Donnie to walk out with him and act like they were in a conversation; "Act like I'm talking to you?" Donnie asked, in a melancholy tone; "Why?"

Mike looked at Donnie nervously; "So that way no one else will talk to me or ask me questions about the game"

Donnie agreed and they walked out of the field house trying to carry on a conversation about cars while Brian walked out with a sinister smirk on his face. He knew who was going to the blame for the loss - not him - and if anyone besides for Coach Gaines knew there was still a chance, it was Brian. Boobie left the scene immediately, after being humiliated by sitting on the sidelines the entire game he wanted nothing to do with Permian football anymore.

People were crowding the chain link fence that separated the field house from a walking path. Some were sympathetic, some were angry that their "home town heros" could't beat their long time rivals. Nicole and I parked at the school and walked towards the field house, hoping to meet up with the guys before they fled the scene.

"What do you want to do tonight?" I asked as we stood next to Brian's car.

Nicole shrugged her shoulders; "Up to them"

I sighed; "I don't even want to be here right now, I just want to fast forward to that coin toss and just know what's going on already"

"I know. Me too. There's still one more game to go, though. We can do it"

"Can't really say 'we can do it' about something that you have absolutely no control over"

"You have to have faith, Kelly"

I rolled my eyes and looked towards the crowd of people just in time to see Donnie, Mike, and Bran walking towards us; "Here they come"

Mike walked up to Nicole and stood in front of her with his head hanging, like he was embarrassed at what had just happened. Donnie walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me while Brian stood next to Donnie and I. He was standing in a defensive stance, looking around the parking lot like he was scanning for someone to take his anger out on.

"You did good" Nicole assured Mike; "It was a good game"

Mike finally looked up at Nicole and nodded; "Yeah"

"We lost" Donnie remarked and took his hat off and looked at it; "We lost to Midland Lee" he repeated shaking his head.

"Yeah but you play a really good game" I added.

Chavez laughed condescendingly; "Were you two watching the same game we played in?"

I rolled my eyes; "It's okay" I said taking Donnie's hat and put it on my head.

My hair fell around my face as the hat sat loosely on my head; "We might not go to state" Donnie said brushing a piece of hair away from my eye.

"You'll go to state, and you'll win"

"It comes down to a coin toss" Mike chimed in; "Can you believe that?"

"It's pretty stupid" Nicole said, resting her head on Mike's shoulder.

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"It's fucking ridiculous" Brian added, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

I nodded and looked at Donnie. What a crazy week and a half full of emotions. We broke up, we got back together, he played one of the biggest games of his high school career and lost. No wonder these kids act the way they do. With so many things going on at once it's easy to just drink it all away and not feel a thing; "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Nothing. I just want to go home"

"Oh. Okay" I knew Donnie wanted to be alone but I thought 'alone' just meant not with his team at this particular moment; "What are you guys doing?" I asked, looking over at Mike, Nicole, and Brian.

"We're going to Chavez's" Mike replied.

"You guys coming?"

I looked at Donnie who had his hands in his pockets and was starring out at nothing; "Do you want to go over to Chavez's?"

He shook his head 'no'; "I don't really want to do anything"

I was going to give up. I can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do; "Alright. Fine then. Brian if you don't mind Nicole has to give me a ride home first then they'll be over to your house"

Nicole laughed, she knew I was trying to make Donnie jealous but she covered her mouth, hoping no one would notice she laughed.

"Kelly? Come here" Donnie said and grabbed my hand and led me across the dark parking lot until we were a few feet from everyone else; "You really want to go hang out at Chavez's?"

"Yeah. Why not? We haven't all hung out in a while, it will be fun"

"We just lost to Midland Lee! We just lost to a bunch of asshole rebels!" he yelled; "Why would I want to go hang out and party and act like everything is okay?"

"Um. Because your Don Billingsly" I replied, sarcastically; "Since when do you do anything differently?. Just come out, it will be fine. We'll relax, get your mind of it" I said wrapping my arms around him and hugging him; "Give yourself a few hours away from football. Worry about it tomorrow at the meeting"

Donnie sighed and kissed my forehead; "It's just a big lose"

"I know it is but there's nothing you can do about it now. Just go out there and win next week. Win that stupid coin toss and get to sate. Your not out of it yet, Donnie"

"Might as well be. You might want to take my jersey off if we go out. Don't want to be caught wearing that around here tonight"

"You know football isn't what's important to me, Donnie. I'd love you if you didn't play football, but as long as you do I'm going to wear this jersey and be proud that number twenty-six is my boyfriend"

"You boyfriend who lost to Midland Lee"

"Oh shut up" I said and hit Donnie on his chest; "I don't care"

Donnie rubbed his eyes and sighed; "Alright. Let's go to Chavez's"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. But I want to just lay on you and go to sleep"

I smiled and took the water bottle of vodka out of my bag. I unscrewed the cap and knelt down on the blacktop and poured it out; "Sounds good to me" I said and stood back up; "Let's go"


	21. Going Back?

Chapter 21

Going Back?

The dimly lit school parking lot that is usually filled with rowdy fans and students after games looked like a ghost town; only a few kids hung around at their cars talking. The Midland Lee team buses were long gone, as well as their pompous fans, but the sting of losing tonights game hung in the air over all of us.

Brian, Mike, Nicole, Donnie, and I headed to our cars on the opposite side of the parking lot. The boys walked with their heads hanging while Nicole and I scanned the parking lot as we walked; "Thanks for nothing!" someone yelled, stepping out of the darkness and towards us; "Go home!" he threw an empty soda can at us.

Brian, always the fighter, stepped towards him but Donnie and Mike held him back; "Hey, why don't you play then if you think it's so easy!"

The kid didn't say anything he just shook his head and walked away; "Come on Chavez. He's not worth it" Donnie reminded him.

"We'll meet you at your house, alright?" Nicole asked when we got to her truck. Brian, Mike, or Donnie didn't say anything, then just got in Brian's car and pulled out of the parking lot; "You sure you want to go over there?" Nicole asked turning to me.

I put my seat belt on and pulled my hair into a ponytail; "I want to be there for Donnie but…if they go over game stats and are going to mope around all night we should just go home"

Nicole yawned before starting the truck; "I'm tired, anyway" she looked at her watch; "Wanna be out by midnight?"

I yawned, also; "Sounds good to me"

Brian lives in the "wealthy" part of town and it took some time to get to his house. Nicole turned on the radio which proved to be a bad idea; _"When you assemble the kind of talent that we have here, and then you just throw it away like that" _the sports announcer spoke over the airwaves.

Nicole and I glanced at each other and kept listening; _"It started with him playin' Boobie when we had a big lead. I mean we could have been in the history books and now? Ain't no way. I mean, that's it. What about Winchell's play tonight? And that Billingsley couldn't hold on…they all suck!"_

Nicole and I both reached for the knob at the same time to turn off the radio; "Fuck them" I mumbled; "These kids can't catch a fucking break. It's not fair. This is all they are going to hear about until that coin toss. A fucking coin toss is going to determine the rest of their lives in Odessa? Fuck that"

Nicole sighed; "Stop cursing"

"Sorry" I laughed; "It's just…messed up"

"You believe me now, right? That Texas high school football is a big deal"

"Yeah. I get it now. I realize it. But it doesn't make it acceptable. When you lose in New York people get over it because it's not the Giants in the Superbowl, it's not the Yankees going to the World Series. It's high school football. There's more that these kids have to worry about than football. I just wish other people would realize that"

"Hometown heroes when we win, cowards when we lose. But they don't care because they aren't the ones that have to deal with it after the game. The parents and the girlfriends and Coach Gaine's wife are the ones who have to deal with it. Nothing is left on that field after a loss. Nothing. It stays with them"

I nodded, agreeing; "Well. The season isn't over yet, that's all I'm gonna say"

"Going to state in eighty eight" Nicole added with a smile; "We'll get there"

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When we got to Brian's house he showed us through the downstairs entrance into the nicely furnished basement; "This all yours, Brian?" I asked looking around. Plush carpet, a few couches, a mini fridge, and his own television were down here.

"No. It's the family room, but I crash down here after games and parties" he explained and dropped his gear in the corner; "I'm gonna go change" Mike and Donnie changed clothes also, then Brian came back downstairs with some snacks and soda.

Donnie laid down on one of the couches and I sat down with him; "How you doing?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders then pulled me down to him so I was laying next to him; "Better now"

"Still upset about the loss?"

"The what?"

"The…loss….to Midland"

"It's whatever. I'll deal with it in the morning at the meeting. Season isn't over yet. Just didn't want to lose to those assholes"

I laughed; "Your going to state. Don't worry" I looked down at Mike and Nicole, who had made a bed out of blankets and pillows on the floor next the couch and saw Mike staring at me; "What?"

"Nothing" Mike replied then rolled over and cuddled with Nicole.

Donnie leaned over and whispered very quietly in my ear; "He took the loss really hard. He was crying in the locker room" Donnie laid back down and cleared his throat; "Like I said, we'll deal with it tomorrow. So what are you doing this weekend?"

"Not a whole lot, just studying some. What are you doing?"

"Meeting. Practices. Away game next week against San Angelo"

"Last one of regular season, right?"

Donnie nodded; "Will you be there?"

"Of course I'll be there" Donnie and I talked for a few more minutes, then we noticed that everyone else had passed out and were snoring; "Nicole said she didn't want to stay" I laughed.

Donnie got off the couch and grabbed an extra blanket then laid down and covered us with it; "Well I'm glad she fell asleep, that means you get to stay with me tonight"

We started to make out under the covers and got a little frisky, touching each other and I started to get Donnie off with a hand job. We went to the downstairs bathroom to finish our business, then tripped over Brian on our way back to the couch; "Billingsley…what are you doing?" Brian asked rolling over and press a pillow over his head.

"What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the floor, Chavez?" Donnie replied.

"I live here" he mumbled.

We laid back down on the couch under the covers and tried to get comfortable to fall asleep; "I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" I whispered back.

"Hey. I've been thinking about something lately"

"Yeah?" I asked closing my eyes; "What's that?"

"I think my dad and your mom should meet"

I smiled, but kept my eyes closed, I was so close to falling asleep; "Why?"

"You know, after the season. After everything calms down and we get to see each other more we should have them meet. It couldn't hurt"

"Yeah. Sounds like a good idea"

"I don't know about you but I plan on being with you awhile-"

"For a while?" I gasped and then laughed quietly; "What do you mean 'a while'?"

Donnie laughed; "Well if I sad 'forever' I thought I'd freak you out"

"I like 'forever'"

Donnie wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him; "Oh. Okay. good. I do too"

November 5th, 1988

The following morning Nicole and I left Brian's house when they went to their coacher's meeting. I got to my house before eight a.m. and I was dragging my ass through the front door just as my mom sat down at the table to breakfast with Kevin.

"Well it's about time you get home!" Kevin yelled, crossing his arms; "Sit down!"

Confused, I dropped my bag on the ground and sat down at my place at the table; "Sorry mom"

"I didn't say anything" my mom replied shrugging her shoulders; "Eggs?"

"Sure" I replied, still confused and yawned.

"Out all night?" she asked, scooping a piled of scrambled eggs on my plate.

"No, after the game we crashed at a friend's house. Had to be up early because the boys had to go to a meeting"

"They lost" Kevin added.

"Yeah. Thanks. I was there" I replied, sarcastically.

"Guess they lost their mojo" he said and started to laugh.

I glared at him across the table, then he got the hint and stopped laughing.

"Well now that your here, Kelly, I can finally tell you both the good news!"

"Good news?" I asked, and took a bite of my eggs; "What good news?"

"You owe me, I've had to wait all night to find out what it is!" Kevin said pointing at me.

"We have plans for Thanksgiving, this year" my mom started.

"Burning the turkey again?"

"Very funny" she replied; "No, we are going to New York City for Thanksgiving"

I almost choked on my eggs; "What?" I gasped; "We are? Why?"

"Yes!" Kevin screamed and started dancing in his chair; "When do we leave? How long are we staying?"

"I can't go" I chimed in; "I don't' want to go"

"Why not?" My asked in disbelief.

"Yeah why not?" Kevin asked; "You were the one who didn't want to leave New York in the first place"

"Well Donnie has an important game that Saturday"

"You'll be back in time" My mom ssured me.

"No, this is serious. I have to be back on Saturday"

"Okay. We'll fly back on Friday" My mom said; "I don't want to stay that long either, so don't worry"

"Wait, no! I don't even want to go in the first place!"

"Why?"

"I don't…I just don't want to" I didn't have any real reason, or a _good_ reason, why I didn't want to go back to New York. I missed my friends and wanted to see them but they haven't called me or gotten ahold of me (besides that one letter from Zac) since I left and I made new friends here in Odessa. I didn't want to leave Donnie, either. Being this close to going to state I wanted to be with him as much as possible.

"Your grandparents are paying for our tickets, and they miss us. They are really looking forward to seeing you, Kelly" My mom explained; "And…it gets you out of three days of school"

I glared at her and cracked a smile; "Fine" I said giving in; "But I have to fly back on Friday. I have to be here for their game on Saturday" I repeated.

"I will call grandma tomorrow and tell her to put the tickets for a return that Friday"

"Okay" I nodded; "Then I'll go. Tell her 'thank you'" I said and took another bite of eggs; "I'm going to go get some sleep, mom"

I picked up my bag and went down to my room and crashed on my bed. I was excited to go back to New York and see my friends, to get away from Texas and back to "civilization" for a bit but I wasn't sure how Donnie was going to take it, or how Zac would react when he saw me again.

Maybe I'd just try my hardest to ignore Zac? But after all we've been through? My head was throbbing from the lack of sleep and constant questions running through my head; "This is worse than a hangover" I said out loud then curled up with my blankets to get some more sleep.


	22. The Toss

Chapter 22

The Toss

November 7th, 1988

On Monday morning Nicole picked me up and we drove to the school. I was up late the night before with Donnie talking on the phone, and Nicole was out late with Mike on another romantic date; "I'm so freaking tired" I said shaking my head; "I really wanted to skip today"

"Why didn't you?" Nicole asked laughing; "I didn't have to pick you up"

I glared at her; "Right. Like I would miss the drama. I want to hear the bullshit everyone is going to be saying about them losing"

We pulled into our normal parking spot and Brian pulled in right next to us with Mike in the passenger seat; "Hey guys!" Brian yelled out the drivers window, enthusiastically - he's pretty much the only person I know who doesn't mind coming to school - win or lose!

I nodded at him and rolled up my window then go out of Nicole's truck; "Good morning" I mumbled.

"Rough night?" Brian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If it was a rough night I would be riding to school with Don" I remarked, cracking a smile.

Mike and Brian both rolled their eyes; "Where is he, anyway?" Mike asked me.

"I don't know. Probably asking Charlie for the car or something, come on let's go. Don't want to be late for….learning"

Nicole and Mike walked into the school holding hands. They were really falling for each other and regardless of where the Panthers were in the season, they were committed to each other and liked to let everyone know with their constant PDA. It was Mike's escape from the stress and pressure of football. Brian and I, who have been getting a long great lately and hanging out alone together, walked behind them and started noticing the cold stares and smirks in their direction; "Ignore it guys" I said under my breath; "Assholes"

"Don't have to tell me twice" Brian agreed as we started to walk upstairs.

"Hey, Winchell" someone yelled a few minutes later from across the hall we walked down towards the senior lockers; "Why don't you complete some more passes next time?"

"Why bother, it's not like their going to state" his friend chimed in and started laughing; "Losers"

"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later" Mike said letting go of Nicole's hand and started to walk off on his own. Brian looked at us sympathetically then ran to catch up with him.

"I feel so sorry for him" I said to Nicole opening my locker that was only a few away from hers; "Has he said anything to you about it yet?"

"About the Midland Lee game? He feels like he let the whole team down"

I took books and folders out of my book bag and switched them with ones in my locker; "He didn't"

"Try telling him that. He was pretty good last night when we were hanging out. He's okay as long as no one brings it up but I don't think that's going to happen too much today"

I rolled my eyes; "Unfortunately"

Nicole shut her locker and walked over to mine. We both leaned against the wall of lockers and looked around at the crowded hallway. A few girls were staring at us but no one spoke to us. Nearly the entire student body was at the game on Friday but clearly no one wanted to talk about.

"So when are you going to tell Donnie about New York?" Nicole asked turning to me; "You are going to tell him, right?"

I laughed; "Yeah I kind of have to tell him. I think he'd figure it out if I didn't"

Suddenly I felt arms slink around my waist and a kiss on the side of my neck; "I'll figure what out?"

Nicole was smiling from ear to ear and trying hard not to laugh knowing she just put me in a sticky situation; "What makes you think we're talking about you?" she asked looking at Donnie.

"Well if it's not me, it's Mike" he remarked, still with his arms around my waist; "And either way one of us wold figure it out"

"It's nothing. I'll tell you later" I replied, calmly.

"Billingsley!" a teacher who was standing outside her classroom across from us yelled, startling us; "Keep your hands to yourself!"

Donnie removed his hands from around my waist and kissed me again; "See you later"

"Love you"

"Yeah yeah love you too" he said, sarcastically, rolling his eyes and started to walk backwards down the hall away from us; "Bye Nicole!"

Nicole waved at Donnie, and we watched him meet up with a friend and walk to class; "He seems in a good mood"

"Yeah well. Football isn't exactly on the top of Donnie's priority list, I think we know that by now" I replied as we walked to the stairwell. My first class was right next to the stairs, and Nicole's was downstairs.

"What exactly is on the top of Donnie's priority list?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

I thought for a moment before answering; "Partying, drinking…and me" I smiled.

Later that day I sat behind Donnie in food science class scribbling in my notebook while the teacher, Mrs. Rhodes, went on and on about French cuisine. The teacher was standing on our side of the classroom so I couldn't play with Donnie's hair or rub his shoulders like usual when she stood in the middle of the room at her podium, teaching. Just as Mrs. Rhodes turned her back for a second to grab something off her desk Donnie passed me back a piece of paper; "How you doing sexy?" was written on it.

I scribbled back; "Just thinking about you" and tossed it over Donnie's shoulder before Mrs. Rhodes turned back around. We passed notes back and forth until the end class when the teacher caught us and stole the paper.

"Starting tomorrow, Kelly, you will be switching seats with Kathy" Mrs. Rhodes said, nodding towards an average looking, quiet, girl who was seated on the opposite side of the class in the front row; "Is that clear?"

I rolled my eyes and slouched in my seat feeling the eyes of everyone in the classroom on me; "Fine"

The bell rang and Donnie and I walked out of the classroom holding hands "At least we're in the same row. If we're lucky we can look at each other" Donnie commented; "What were you about to write back in the note?"

"Huh?" I asked as we made our way through the crowded hallways.

"I asked you what you and Nicole were talking about earlier but I didn't get to read what you wrote before she took it"

"Oh. It's about Thanksgiving"

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" he asked, confused; "My house?"

"Uh…no actually… my family and I going to New York City" I stammered.

Donnie stopped walking outside the cafeteria, where he had study hall next; "You are?"

"Yeah. We're leaving that Sunday and I'll be back Friday so I won't miss the game on Saturday or anything!" I said cheerfully, try to show Donnie the good side of me going away.

Donnie gave me a look; "What are you going to do in New York?"

"Eat turkey…maybe go to a museum or something. Watch football" I replied, not feeling like I had to explain myself to my boyfriend, though; "Why?"

"Hang out with Zac?" he asked slipping his hands in his jacket pockets.

"I haven't even spoke to my friends since I left, I doubt they'll want to hang out with me anymore" Talking about my friends that I've known since I was young like that, hurt. I would have never imagined our friendship would be like this just because I moved to Texas; "But if they do, trust me, I'll make sure I'm never alone with Zac, okay?"

The bell rang as Donnie and I were standing outside the cafeteria; "Yeah. That would be nice" he said, sarcastically and walked inside the cafeteria for study hall.

Donnie's attitude towards my trip to New York didn't come as a surprise, I just hoped he would drop the attitude and it wouldn't be an issue. After school I waited for Nicole at her truck so we could go watch the boys practice. I saw Brian running towers his car and I looked at my watch; "Where the hell is she?"

"Hey! You need a ride to the field?" Brian asked, brushing past me and opening the drivers door.

"Yeah…I don't know where Nicole is"

"Get in" Brian said, smiling and reached across from the inside and opened my door for me; "I think everyone should have a car, it would make everything a lot easier" he laughed.

"Sorry Brian, we all don't have rich parents who give us sports cars on our sixteenth birthday"

He pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive towards the stadium; "This is my second actually. I crashed the first one" he replied, quietly.

I laughed; "Good one"

"So. I heard your going back home" Brian said, after a few minutes of silence.

"Yep. For Thanksgiving"

"You know Donnie doesn't want you to go, right?"

I glared at him; "I knew that before I even told him"

Brian shook his head; "I'll talk to him"

"Thanks. Shouldn't have to but if you want to"

"He loves you, can't blame him for being worried right? I mean you worry about him when we're out at parties right?"

"Yeah but I have reason to. He made out with someone. I've never done anything for him to not trust me. Anything that happened between me and Zac, happened before I met him. Doesn't count, right?"

Brian agreed; "I'll talk to him"

I quickly changed the subject; "I've been meaning to ask you! Are you guys going to state?" I asked over excitedly, mocking everyone who always asked them before the Midland Lee game.

"Yeah. We'll go. I know we will" he replied just as confidently as ever.

I smiled; "I know you will too"

Brian pulled into a parking spot at the field and we got out of the car. Brian grabbed his gear from the back and locked the car; "Here" he sad handing me the keys; "If Nicole doesn't show up and your cold"

I took them from him and put them in my pocket as walked to the entrance; "Thanks. I'm gonna wait for Nicole out here"

"Alright. I'll see you after"

I sat down on the curb and watched as the players made their way to practice, most of them smiled at me or waved before going on. A few minuets later Donnie drove into the parking lot and pulled into a spot, the car coming to a screeching halt. I shook my head and stood up and watched Donnie and Mike hurry across the parking lot with their gear; "You gotta slow down!" I laughed and hugged Donnie.

"I though we were late!" he laughed.

"Mike do you know here Nicole is?" I asked looking at Mike. He looked ill, looking around nervously like he was either going to pass out or throw up; "Mike? You alright?"

He snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times before answering me; "She uh…had to stay after for a little bit to tutor someone. She said she'd be here in half an hour"

"Oh. Okay" I replied, still worried about Mike; "Have a good practice guys. Don't be too rough on this one" I said hitting Mike on his shoulder playfully.

He forced a smile; "You waiting for Nicole?"

"Yeah. I'll be in when she gets here" I replied; "Love you Donnie"

"Love you too" he said and gave me a big hug, lifting me off the ground; "Be careful out here"

"I will, Brian gave me the keys to his car if anything"

"Well here, take my jacket, too" Donnie said taking off his black leather jacket and handing it to me.

I laughed but took it anyway; "It's not that cold out here guys" It only gets around sixty in Texas in November and I was wearing a light hooded sweatshirt while Brian and Mike were both wearing jackets; "Don't be late" I nodded towards the stadium.

Inside the locker room players started to gather at their lockers to change. Coach Gaines and his coaching staff watched from behind a glass window as Boobie opened his locker and started emptying it into his duffle bag. Chris Comer noticed and started watching him, also. "Whats's up Waterbug" Boobie asked him, cheerfully. 'Waterbug' is Boobie's nickname he gave Chris at the beginning of the season. No one knows what it means but it's coming form someone nicknamed 'Boobie' him self so no one asked questions.

"What's up Boobie?" Chris asked, still watching him from across the locker room.

Boobie didn't answer him, instead taking a handful of car magazines out of his locker. Boobie kept them in his locker to remind him of what he will have one day when he makes it to the pros. Chris walked over and leaned against the wall across from Boobie's locker as Donnie, Brian, and Mike entered the locker room and started watching Boobie, confused, as well.

Boobie took his white Permian Panthers towel that had his number and name on it and stuffed one end of it into the front of his pants. A lot of the players did this during games so they could wipe their hands and keep them dry to be able to catch the ball better. Boobie zipped up his bag and picked it up. He noticed Chris and slapped his hand in a handshake; "Waterbug" he yelled with a laugh; "Play offs belong to you, baby"

"I'll make you proud"

Boobie walked over to Donnie, Brian and Mike and looked at them; "Whatcha looking at?" he asked, smiling; "Play your ass off! Win state! Be perfect…all that shit" he trailed off. He walked over to his locker and slid his black name plate off his locker and stared at it; "This is a gift for you. It will be worth a lot of money" he said walking back over to Donnie and handed it to him.

"I bet it will" Donnie said, smiling.

The entire locker room watched as Boobie limped out of the locker room. He passed Ivory Christina on the way out; "You be perfect, preacher man" Boobie said smugly, then limped out of the Permian locker room for the last time.

I sat outside waiting for Nicole when I noticed Boobie limp out of the stadium with his bag. He got into his uncle's car and although I couldn't hear them very well I knew emotions were running high inside his uncle's car. I tried not to eavesdrop in on this awkward situation. Luckily Nicole was walking up to me just then. I stood up and ran to her; "What's going on?" she asked looking over at the car Boobie and his uncle were sitting in. We could hear Boobie crying and screaming out now; "What the hell is going on?"

"I think Boobie just quit"

November 11th, 1988

The Permian Panthers finished their regular season by beating the San Angelo Bobcats at home, 41 - 7. The win was a redemption for the town, and just another win for the team. The season ended with Permian, Midland Lee, and Midland High School all having identical records of 5 - 1. Only two teams can go to the playoffs so the coin toss tiebreaker rules were now, officially, in effect.

After the game the entire team skipped the parties and instead, went to Brian's house and crammed into his basement. The coin toss would be televised live and the team wanted to be together when they learn that they are, or aren't, going to state.

Mike was the only one who wasn't at Brian's. Coach Gaines asked Mike if he wanted to go with him since he has been feeling pretty low and under pressure from the entire town since their loss against Midland Lee. Mike and Coach left the stadium before anyone else to make the drive to an undisclosed location - a truck stop a few hours away; "You ever feel cursed, Coach?" Mike asked as they drove; "Like, no matter what, inside your heart you feel that you're gonna lose. Like something's hanging over you, following you like a witch or a demon that just…you can't win?"

"I feel like that all the time" Coach Gaines replied, nodding; "Even when things are going good. When we're winnin' it's there. And when we're loosen it's there. It took me a long time to realize, that, uh, there ain't much difference between winnin' and losin' except for how the outside world treats you. But inside you it's about all the same" Mike and Coach Gaines looked at each other; "It really is. Fact of the matter is, I believe that, uh, our only curses are the noes that are self-imposed. You know what I'm saying? We, all of us, dig our own holes"

Coach Gaines came home to 'for sale' signs shoved in his front yard after the Midland Lee game and his wife in tears on the front porch. The possibility of having to move if they don't win at state (or don't make it there in the first place) has been hanging over his head ever since. His season has been a successful one when looking at the numbers and stats but it has become meaningless with the playoffs in the distance. The song "Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good" came on the radio and it's then that he wonders if it was a omen.

The rest of the drive to the truck stop was tense and silent, knowing that within the next few minutes the future of the 1988 Permian Panthers would be in the hands of Coach Gaine's and his coin that he brought for the toss. They pulled up outside the truck stop and restaurant called "The Convoy" where the coin toss would take place. They were surprised to see so many people there when the location was kept a secret. The local KMID-TV van and camera crew was there also; "Ready?" Coach Gaines asked Mike before they got out of the car; "Are you ready, son?"

Mike nodded nervously; "Yeah. I'm ready"

At Brian's house the boys were packed in around the television set; "Hey, why don't you guys wait outside?" Brian suggested turning to Nicole and I and a few other "girlfriends" that were there.

"Seriously?" I asked staring at him; "You really want us to wait outside?"

Brian laughed; "Nah, I'm just kidding"

"We'll stay in the corner, how about that?" I rolled my eyes and Nicole and I walked to the far corner of the room with a few of the other girls; "What do you think?" I asked looking at Nicole. She reminded me of how Mike looked the other day. Eyes darting back and forth, and sickly.

"What do you mean?"

"Think we'll make it?"

"It comes down to a coin toss, Kelly. I can't predict the future"

"How do they do it up in New York?" Michelle, Chris Comer's girlfriend, asked, nudging into our conversation.

"Drive by shooting" I replied, seriously, but Nicole elbowed me. I guess this wasn't the time to joke, or get into a fight; "No, but seriously. A scrimmage game. Kind of funny in a state where high school football is all that anyone has and they decide things through a coin toss and not an actual game of football"

"Tell me about it" Michelle agreed; "I'm so nervous for Chris"

"Started this season on JV, right?"

She nodded; "Now he's out there with the big boys, making the big plays"

The room fell quiet when the local channel went to static, then footage of the coin toss came through. I wondered how many people were watching at this very moment. I wondered how Donnie felt and I looked over at him. He winked at me and smiled. That smile was all it took for me to relax. I smiled back at him and hoped I had the same effect on him.

"Ladies and gentlemen this is truly unbelievable" the local newscaster covering the coin toss announced standing in front of a film crew with the three coaches behind him; "A three-way tie for first place. So, in just a few minutes this truck stop, which we're not allowed to reveal the identity of, will serve host for a coin toss that will send two of these teams to the state play-offs and one of them home empty handed. Folks we're here with the three wining coaches. Now, we've all agreed on the rules. Two out of three here, odd man out. If you got one tails, they're out. If you got one heads, they're out. It's a tough way after a great season for these coaches, but this is the way it's gonna be. When I give the word, we're gonna toss our coins. And then the districts gonna have it's two representatives. Let's see the coins, guys"

I turned to Nicole and wrapped my arm around her; "Good luck" I whispered in her ear; "And thank you" She looked at me confused; "I'll explain later" I smiled. If it wasn't for Nicole my time here in Odessa would have been hell, like I thought for sure it was going to be. I know for sure if it wasn't for Nicole, Donnie and I would have never started dating either. I owed a lot to her. I've only been here for three months but I know the next eight are going to be great.

"Alright, uh coach Doug McCutcheon from Midland High's got…" the announcer asked and looked at Doug's coin; "a 1922 silver dollar. All right. Coach Gary Gaines from Permian, you got a….nickel" We all laughed. Leave it to Coach Gaines to bring the most underrated coin to a con toss; "And from Midland Lee coach Ethan Millers got…well that's just your basic U.S. quarter. Okay. Coaches ready?"

I heard everyone in Brian's basement take in a deep breath at the same time. I keep my eyes locked on Donnie.

Coach Gaines turned to Mike, who was seated against the window in the restaurant out of view of the television cameras; "Aint' no curses" he said smiling at him. Mike forced a fake, small, smile and nodded.

The television announcer continued his coverage; "One. Two. Three. Toss 'em!"

All three coaches tossed their coins into the air at the same time. They flew to the ceiling then ricocheted and spun around the room before landing on various parts of the red tile floor with tiny pings. All at once the men rushed to their coins.

"This one looks like heads" coach Doug McCutcheon from Midland High accounted.

"Okay, that's heads for Midland High"

"That's mine" coach Ethan Millers said reaching down for his quarter; "It's heads"

"Okay, Midland Lee is also heads" the announcer said.

The tension in Brian's basement was growing. I felt like I was going to faint.

"Hey we got a third one over here" someone else in The Convoy said pointing to coach Gaine's nickel.

"Coach, that's you" Mike spoke up.

"Come on, Gaines" someone said, egging him on to look at his coin.

"Don't touch that. Just leave it alone" coach Gaines said, sternly to the man then bent down to his coin; "Well, that's heads"

"Yep, that's heads too. Permian is also heads" the announcer said.

I looked around the room and everyone had their eyes fixed on the TV. No one looked anywhere else. No one hung their heads in disappointment of a re-toss.

"Yeah well, that figures. The way you guys teams played each other this year, it'd take more than one toss so…" the announcer started.

"Hang on a second" another gentleman at the restaurant said, interrupting the announcer; "You know, this coin's pretty worn. Does this look like heads to you?"

Another gentleman looked at the coin; "I can't tell the difference. It might be tails"

"Folks, there might be some controversy here regarding Midland High's coin" the announcer said and everyone got on the edge of their seats in anticipation.

"This could be it" I whispered to Nicole; "Midland Lee again?"

Nicole nodded her head; "That would be…fun"

The coaches, assistants, and announcer all looked at the coin and shook their heads in agreement; "It's tails!"

"Wooooooooooooooohoooooooooo!" Everyone started screaming and hugging each other in Brian's basement when we put two and two together and realized Permian was going to the playoffs!

"So the good news is that life continues for both Midland Lee and Permian high schools" the announcer continued; "At least for another couple of weeks. The not-so-good news is that it looks like all roads are eventually leading to Dallas Carter. And what a monster of a team Dallas Carter is. I mean, the rumor is they've got nine players that have already signed division one letters of intent"

The celebration stopped for only a brief moment when everyone watched footage of Dallas Carter's previous games on the televison; "Damn. Those boys big" Jerrod McDougal said shaking his head.

Brian turned off the television and turned to his teammates; "We'll deal with them when the time comes - but we're going to the play offs baby!"

The room erupted in celebration again and Donnie came over to me, wrapping me in a big hug; "I knew it. I knew you'd go" I said, almost in tears.

"I can't believe it" he said, still hugging me; "Fucking unbelievable"

Brian came over smiling ear to ear. I let go of Donnie and hugged Brian; "Congrats"

He laughed; "Thanks Kelly. Are you guys going to stick around?"

Donnie held my hand; "Nah, I think we're gonna get out here. We have some celebrating to do"

I blushed; "And some talking"

Donnie agreed; "And some talking"

"Alright. Well just remember what I told you earlier, Kelly" Brian said, hugging me again, then started talking with Nicole.

"Talking?" Donnie asked looking at me; "About what?"

"New York" I replied, smiling.

"I know your just going up for Thanksgiving I just don't trust him. Sorry. And besides, I need you back for my game" he said smiling.

"I'll be back for your game. Don't worry" I assured him and hugged him; "So. Your place? Or a hotel?"


	23. Crazy Ideas

Chapter 23

Crazy Ideas

November 17th, 1988

Practices have been longer, held more often and they've been harder than ever in preparation for the playoffs; "You brought alcohol…again?" Nicole asked as I reached into my book bag.

I laughed; "Yes. But that's not what I'm getting" I pulled out a notebook from my English class; "See? I have a test tomorrow. Edger Allen Poe" I explained; "Not too late to start getting better grades, right?"

Nicole agreed; "Nice. That's what I like to see"

"Yeah, once the football season is over I'll be able to focus more with the more free time we'll have"

"No one is twisting our arms to sit at practice, you know that right?"

"I love sitting at practice. Just figured I could use the time more wisely, that's all"

"Do you still have your heart seat on NYU?" she asked, looking over my shoulder at the notes I had written.

"I don't know" I sighed; "I always dreamed of going there. It's like everyone who's from New York goes there…but you know…then I came here"

"You could go to the Unniversity of Texas" Nicole suggested, half jokingly.

I glared at her; "The way I see it is it doesn't matter where I graduate from, as long as I graduate college, right?"

"Yeah. That's true"

"What about you?" I asked, shutting my notebook. I was enjoying our conversation and could study on the drive to school tomorrow. Nicole and I usually only see each other when we're with the guys and when we're not with the guys we're doing homework or sleeping. It felt good to have a conversation that didn't have to do with football, or sex or parties; "What do you want to do after graduation?"

"I want to go with you to New York" she laughed; "Just one more time before…before I settle down"

"Before you settle down? Yeah I think we'll have enough time" I laughed; "New York isn't going anywhere"

"Yeah well neither am I"

The conversation just took on a rather somber feeling; "What do you mean?"

"The only way I'm getting out of this God forsaken state is Mike. I think we all know that" she replied and turned her head away from me and stared out at the football field.

"What does Mike have to do with you getting out of Texas?"

"I'm not going anywhere here" she said looking around; "Man, I love Odessa but I don't want to be one of those old ladies with twenty cats sitting on my porch going to….going to football games every Friday"

"So your using Mike to get out of here? Yeah…that's cool" I said sarcastically.

"No! I love Mike!" she protested; "I wouldn't do that!"

I didn't believe her; "Well if I go back to New York you can come with, I guess"

"How? How am I supposed to get there?"

"You have a car. We'll drive"

Nicole rolled her eyes; "Well what about Donnie?"

"What about him?"

"What does he want to do after graduation?"

"Go to college and play football"

"Are you going with him?"

"To college? Only if we get accepted to the same one. Why?"

Nicole shook her head; "You don't get it"

I rolled my eyes; "I'm tired of hearing that I don't "get" anything! What? Because I drink, and go to parties I don't "get" anything? I'm not stupid alright? Knock that shit off. I'm tired of hearing it"

"I didn't say you were stupid it's just that you have an answer for everything. You have somewhere you can go if life gets hard here. Then if life in New York bores you, you can come back. Well where does Donnie fit in all that?"

"If we're going to be together forever we can be apart for a while if we decide to go to separate colleges. Oh wait, I'm sorry. Was than an answer? Should I rephrase that?"

Nicole sighed; "I'm sorry Kelly"

"Whatever" I opened my notebook to study again. I didn't really want to talk anymore. I didn't liked being attacked, especially by my cousin but we'll get over it. We always do; "Is practice almost over?" I asked, without looking up.

"Kelly. I have to tell you something"

"Uh huh" I said and continued to skim my notes.

"Are you listening?

"Loud and clear"

"Kelly, Mike and I are going to get married"

I looked up at her with my mouth gaping open in shock; "What?" I asked with a laugh; "Why?"

"Because we love each other"

There's that "love" word again! "You guys are so young! We're so young! How do you know it's going to work out? You guys haven't even been dating that long" I rambled on, I felt bad for attacking her but she deserved it and someone had to talk some sense into her.

"Well we've known each other for a really long time. It's not like we just met"

Okay she had a point there. I guess it could be "worse"; "Did you tell Aunt Jackie?"

She shook her head 'no'; "We haven't told anyone. We uh…we plan on doing it soon we just don't want to tell anyone. Your the only one I can trust, Kelly and I had to tell someone. Please don't say anything okay?"

Just as the news about Mike and Nicole was starting to sink in I heard someone yell my name from the bottom of the bleachers. It was Donnie's dad, Charlie. I looked down at him and he smiled; "What does he want?" I asked. He waved me down to the fence; "I gotta go" I said and started to gather my stuff.

"Wait. Kelly" Nicole said grabbing my arm.

"I gotta go. I'll see you later"

"We're going to the pit after practice"

I nodded my head, feeling rushed; "Yeah I know. I'll be there"

"Don't tell anyone" she said sternly, while she still had a grip on my arm.

"I won't" I said and pulled my arm away from her.

I rushed down the bleachers and stood next to Charlie at the edge of the field against the chain link fence; "Hey Charlie" I smiled.

"Kelly" he nodded, still watching practice.

"What's uh…what's going on?" I asked and scanned the field just as Donnie was thrown a pass. He ran a few yards but got tackled and the ball flew into the air; "You wanted to talk to me?"

"You know" Charlie said shaking his head; "He just…he just ain't getting it. He doesn't understand"

"Huh? What doesn't he understand?"

Charlie sighed; "This is the only thing he's ever gonna have. Forever. It will carry him forever"

I wanted to walk away from Charlie and go back up in the stands with Nicole. Was I going to have to talk some sense into not one, but two people today? "Are you ever going to let up on him?" I spoke up. Charlie glared at me; "They made it to the playoffs. There is still a chance he'll go to state. Why are you so hard on him?"

"It's an ugly fact of life, Kelly. Hell, it's the only fact of life. He's got one year, one stinking year to make himself some memories. That's all. It's gone after that"

"His memories of his last year of high school don't all have to be about football"

"What? Next your going to tell me there's more to life than football?"

I laughed; "There is"

"Like what?"

"Me" I stated.

"You?"

"Yeah. Me. A yankee from New York that your son is in love with. I think our memories are going to mean more to him than this football season"

Charlie scoffed; "You think so?" he leaned against the fence; "What makes you think he'll stay with you that long?"

I shrugged my shoulders; "I'm not God, I can't see into the future. All I know is we're having fun and we love each other. Even if we aren't together forever I'll be happy knowing that at one time we were all each other had" There was a pause in our conversation as we watched Donnie take a handoff from Mike. He was tackled a few moments later and again, fumbled the ball.

"What you doing out there, Donnie?" Charlie yelled, throwing his hands up in disbelief; "Hang on to the ball!" I shook my head at Charlie's constant pressure and unnecessary comments. Coach Gaines was doing enough disciplining on the field, Donnie didn't need to hear it off the field, too. Charlie turned to me; "I'll be dammed if he's gonna miss it" he stated and walked away.

Coach Gaines blew his whistle and ended practice a few minutes later. I walked out of the stadium to wait for Donnie. Nicole walked past me; "I'll just…meet you there" she said quietly, nodding towards her truck.

"Yep" I nodded. I didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now; "I think we both have some thinking to do on the drive up there"

"What do you mean?" she asked putting her hands on her hips; "What is that supposed to mean, Kelly?"

"Just think about it. Your seventeen"

"Coming from the girl who was going to have a baby at seventeen. Since when are you an expert?"

"Let me just ask you this. Are you having fun right now?"

"What?"

"Are you having fun right now? You know, football games, parties, freedom. Do you enjoy all that?"

"Yeah"

"You know you can get out of Odessa, you can love Mike and you can be together without getting married. You know that right?"

Nicole nodded towards the stadium just as the doors opened and a few guys walked out; "Just don't tell anyone"

"In one ear and out the other, huh?" I smirked and noticed Donnie running towards us; "Does Donnie know?"

"I don't think Mike told anyone yet" I nodded; "You won't tell him, will you?"

"You just don't want to tell anyone because everyone will try to talk you out of it"

"Something like that" she said and turned and walked away.

"Where's she going?" Donnie asked when he reached me; "Is she still coming?"

"Uh yeah. She's gonna meet us there" I answered and smiled at him; "Good practice"

"Thanks" he said and unlocked the car; "Hey, are you alright?"

I rolled my eyes; "I'll tell you in the car"

We pulled out of the stadium parking lot and drove to 7-11 to pick up food before starting the drive to the pit. Mike and Nicole were behind us and farther back Brian drove by himself; "You weren't in the stands all practice, babe" Donnie spoke up holding his right hand in mine as he drove; "Where'd you go?"

"Yeah" I replied and cleared my throat; "Your dad wanted to talk to me"

"My dad? What did he want to talk to you about?"

"Just some bullshit about how you aren't "getting it" and that your senior year is for making memories. I don't know. I was only half listening"

Donnie laughed; "I am making memories" he said and kissed my hand; "Good ones. You remember the last time we were at the pit, right?"

"Yeah. We had sex on the car" I laughed; "That was the night I fell in love with you"

"That was the night I told you I wanted you to come with me when I go to college"

"About that Donnie…"

"I know I know…your going to go to NYU, a college I've never heard of that's a thirty hour car ride from here"

I smiled; "How do you know it's a thirty hour car ride?"

"Oh I've looked into it believe me. I'd much rather have you stay in Texas but…I can't stop you"

"I think I'm going to apply to a few colleges in Texas"

"Yeah?" Donnie asked, smiling; "You are?"

"I'll be a lot happier seeing you every day rather than visiting you once a month"

"If that" Donnie added.

"Hey, if I tell you something….you won't tell anyone right?" I asked, changing the subject. Nicole's idea of getting married to get out of Odessa was weighting heavily on my mind. I couldn't talk to my mom about it since that is her niece and would have to tell her sister. I really wanted to tell Donnie but I didn't want to run the risk of him talking to Mike about it and the whole thing blowing up in my face.

Donnie let go of my hand and returned it to the steering wheel; "Depends"

"Depends on what?"

"Depends on what is it. What is it?"

"It has to do with Nicole and Mike"

Donnie nodded his head; "If it has to do with breaking up, or cheating or anything I don't want to know. I don't want to have to tell Mike something he doesn't want to hear"

"No no, it's not like that"

"Then what is it?"

I sighed; "Okay you can't talk to Mike about it though"

"Tell me what it is first"

"Donnie!" I laughed and hit his arm.

"What?" he laughed; "Why don't you just not tell me then?"

"Because this is serious and I don't have anyone else I can talk to about it. It's driving me nuts"

"Alright. Just tell me. I know if you don't you'll just bug me about it later"

"Gee thanks" I said rolling my eyes; "Alright. Well at practice Nicole and I go to talking about the future and she said she and Mike are going to get married"

Donnie laughed loudly; "What are you talking about? Winchell? Mike Winchell said he's gonna get married?"

"Well no. I didn't talk to Mike, but Nicole said they are going to do it soon"

"Why?"

"So she can get out of Texas when he goes to college. You know, with Mike being looked at by Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee I guess she doesn't want to miss any of that. She thinks it's her only way out of here"

"They don't have to be married for that"

"That's what I told her but she's dead set on it. She said they were doing it "soon" and that they aren't going to tell anyone about it"

"They can't do anything until they're eighteen"

"True. Do you know Mike's birthday?"

"It's in January. When is Nicole's?"

"December"

Donnie sighed; "Your cousin is crazy"

I laughed; "Yeah. It runs in the family"

Donnie and I got up to the pit first with Nicole and Brian's cars pulling in a few minutes later. No one else was up there and it felt like we were the last five people on earth. It's become a great place to escape the stress and scrutiny from the locals. Mike and Brian came over to the back of Donnie's car and got the beer, BB gun, and BB bullets out while Nicole opened the tail gate on her truck and sat on it with her legs dangling off the edge; "You gonna hang out with me, or what Kelly?" Nicole yelled over to me.

I was leaning against Donnie's car watching the guys until she got my attention; "Maybe" I said, rolling my eyes but smiled at her then climbed onto the bed of the truck, then up to the top of the cab; "Throw me my drink, please?" I yelled out. Donnie went into the cooler and threw me a mini bottle of Vodka; "Thank you baby"

He smiled at me; "Ready?" he asked, handing Brian the BB gun with a can of beer in his other hand.

Brian nodded; "Pull it" Donnie threw a rock in the air for Brian to shoot at.

Nicole looked over her shoulder at me; "Better not scratch my truck"

I took a sip of my Vodka then glared at her; "Heaven forbid. I got a good view up here, come on, come sit with me"

"I'm good here"

"Chicken shit" Nicole finally gave in and sat on the top of the cab with me; "Look, I'm sorry I got mad at your earlier" I said quietly so no one would hear what we were talking about.

"It's alright. That's how I figured you would react"

"Well yeah" I scoffed; "Your acting crazy"

"Your telling me you wouldn't marry Donnie and move away if you had the chance?"

I thought about that for a second; "If that was the only way I could be with him and the only way I could get out of Texas then yes" I said and took another sip; "But it's not" Nicole nodded, but I knew he mind was already made up.

Mike finished his first beer, cracked open another, and sat down on the tail gate of Nicole's truck; "Hey Kelly" he said, looking over his shoulder.

"Hey" I nodded; "What's new?"

"Nothing" he said, looking at Nicole.

"Would you like to sit here, Winchell?" I asked, pointing to my spot; "Would you like me to move?" He didn't answer me, so I jumped down off the truck; "Love birds have to sit together, I guess"

"You alright, babe?" Donnie asked coming over to me. He slinked his arm around my waist and pulled me into a kiss.

"Get a room" Brian yelled, jokingly; "You too, Winchell!"

Donnie and I stopped kissing and I looked up at Mike and Nicole who were making out; "Enough" I laughed and threw Donnie's empty beer can at them.

"Yeah come on, get a room" Donnie added, grabbing another beer.

"The honeymoon suite is more like it" Brian joked. Nicole, Mike, Donnie, and I all exchanged awkward glances; "What?" Brian asked; "What did I say?"

"Nothing" Donnie said, clearing his throat; "Ready?" he threw another rock into the air for Brian to shoot at.

Donnie threw a few more rocks, then Brian handed Mike the BB gun; "Your up" Mike put his beer down and took the gun; "What are you so quiet about?" Brian asked Nicole.

"Nothing" she replied, shrugging her shoulders; "Just thinking"

"She has a lot on her mind, Brian. Leave her alone" I advised him.

Brian shook his head; "We got to lighten up, guys. Come on, we're seventeen"

"Do you feel seventeen?" Donnie asked, picking up another rock.

"I don't feel seventeen" Mike replied; "Pull it" Donnie threw a rock for him.

"Hard to feel seventeen with so much going on in your life" I added and sat down next to Brian.

"We will win state" he said looking over at me.

Donnie laughed; "Chavez, you're like a human pinnate. You get your ass beat more than anybody I know, and you just sit there and spit out candy"

"That's because he's out of here. He's got the grades, and no matter what, we win or lose, he knows he's getting out. He's got one foot out the door" Mike said.

"We're not all that lucky" Nicole added, coldly.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"Some people feel that they have to go to the extreme to get out of their hometown" I said, looking back and forth between Mike and Nicole; "It's pathetic. They can't just live their lives and be happy that they have each other" Everyone looked at me; "Then we got Chavez over here" I laughed; "He's gonna be drinking martinis, eating lamb chops and getting manicures"

"You're just jealous. Give me the gun" Brian said, cracking a smile.

Brian and Donnie went back to shooting and Mike walked up to me; "What was that all about?" he asked angrily.

"What?"

"We're pathetic?"

"No. I didn't say that. But you are crazy"

"Thanks Kelly" Nicole laughed, rolling her eyes; "Forget it Mike, just ignore her"

"Yeah Mike. Just ignore me. Two months from now you two can do whatever you want and pay for your own mistakes"

"Thanks. Mom" he smirked; "Come on Nicole, let's go"

Nicole got down off the top of the cab of her truck; "I'll see you in school" she said, walking past me.

"I'm sorry" I said, following her around to the driver's side door.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you"

She got in her truck and pulled out of her parking spot, spewing rocks and dirt back at Donnie, Brian, and I; "What was that all about?" Brian asked walking over to me.

I sighed. Might as well tell Brian so he's not the only one out of the loop; "Nothing. Just trying to break up a marriage before it starts"

"Marriage? Between who? Winchell? Winchell's getting married?"

Donnie laughed; "That's what I said"

"You guys think it's all Nicole's idea?" I asked, turning to them.

Donnie and Brian looked at each and started laughing hysterically; "Come on man, let's use up these BB's before it gets dark out. Brian said handing Donnie the gun.

The three of us stayed at the pit for a few more hours, then drove back home. The team had to mentally prepare themselves for the playoffs tomorrow - which was the perfect time to mend fences with Nicole and Mike.

Right.


	24. Playoffs

Chapter 24

Playoffs

November 19th, 1988

The day after our incident at the pit Nicole and I made up. She knew I disagreed with her plans, but she wanted to keep things civil so I wouldn't tell my aunt about it. Mike still wouldn't talk to me, though.

Everyone at Permian was nervous and anxious for the team's first playoff game. Donnie refused to talk about it, Brian was picking fights, and Mike walked through the hallways at school the same way he did every Friday - hands in his pockets, eyes staring out into nothing, he didn't speak a word to anyone all day (not that that bothered me in the slightest). Mike was determined to prove himself to his team, and to Odessa.

Permian beat Amarillo Tascosa on Friday night with ease, thirty one to seven. A great way to start the playoffs.

Tonight they faced off against the Andress Eagles in El Paso. The team was released from school early so they could head to the airport, where a private jet was waiting for them. The school chartered it for them to fly to the game, and the whole town was up in arms about it - again.

I skipped my next class and snuck out of the school to meet Donnie in the parking lot where the team was waiting for a bus; "Kelly, what…what are you doing here?" Donnie asked when I pulled on his arm and he turned around.

"Just wanted to see you before you left"

Donnie smiled and gave me a hug; "Wish you were coming"

"Yeah well Nicole and I are still working out our problems" I laughed, and noticed Mike standing next to Donnie, he was staring at me; "Hey Mike" I smiled; "Good luck tonight" He nodded and walked away.

"He'll get over it" Donnie laughed and put his arm around my shoulder; "What are you doing tonight?"

"Well do you know what time you'll be back?"

"Not too late. Ten maybe?"

"Well I was just thinking about how long it's been since we've been alone" I whispered and bit my bottom lip seductively; "It's been a while"

"It has" he said and pulled me closer to him and kissed me; "I'll get the car after we get home, we'll go out"

"Sounds good" I smiled; "Now go win for me, Billingsley" I walked away before Coach Gaines noticed me in the crowd, but I stopped walking after only a few feet and looked back at Donnie. He was still standing there watching me. I blew him a kiss; "Make me proud, baby!"

Later that night, Nicole and I sat on my porch steps with the radio sitting between us, listening to the game; "Here we are live, ladies and gentleman at the Sun Bowl" the announcer boomed over the tiny speakers on the radio.

"The Sun Bowl" I commented; "That's huge!"

Nicole nodded; "They are so excited"

The stands were packed, and the Sun Bowl was nothing like they have ever played in before. Their usual attendance of thousands looked like little bits of confetti in the stands of the Sun Bowl. Coach Gaines was prowling up and down the sidelines the entire game, there was no room for mistakes and he wanted to make sure his team knew it. At halftime he yelled at them because the score of twenty-one to seven was not enough for him. He was convinced they couldn't pull of the win because of their sloppy plays.

Nicole and I sat next to each other barely speaking the entire game, instead listening intensely to the game; "Hey I'm gonna need you to do me a favor" she spoke up.

"What's that?"

"Can you be my witness when I get married?"

I looked over here and smiled; "Still doing it huh?"

"The day after Mike turns eighteen" she replied, confidentially; "I love him, Kelly"

I sighed, knowing that soon Nicole will be eighteen and she can legally do whatever she wants. Regardless of what I say, what her mom says, or what my mom says. She's my cousin and I will stand by her (literally and figurative) with whatever she wants to do; "Listen. I'll do it. But I don't like it, and I think your making a mistake" Nicole just shook her head; "I don't want to talk about it anymore"

We listened to the rest of the game and in the end, Permian beat the Andress Eagles forty-one to thirteen. A huge win that deserved a huge party. Coach Gaines advised against going out and partying - there were still two more games to play, and win, before state. He lectured about attentiveness and discipline in the locker room, but as the boys were loading the bus they were busy talking back and forth about who's house they were partying at tonight.

"Your coming out, right Billingsley?" Stan Wilkins, the second string senior quarterback said, hitting him on the shoulder as everyone found their own seats on the bus.

"Nah, I'm good" he replied, sitting down.

"He has plans with Kelly" Brian teased, sitting down across the isle from him.

"Yeah? You two still sharing her? Can I get in on that, too?"

"What did you say?" Donnie said and stood up and shoved Stan against the row of seats across from him. A bunch of the players who were sitting in their seats were suddenly on their feet; "What did you just fucking say about my girl?" Donnie repeated and stepped to Stan, getting his face.

"I said…are you and Chavez still sharing the new girl in town?"

Donnie shoved him again, and Stan started to swing at Donnie but Brian was able to step in-between them before the fight escalated; "Just calm down, alright? He's just pissed he ain't playing" Brian said glaring at Stan; "and you say one more thing about Kelly I'll handle you myself" Brian pushed him down into a open seat on the bus; "Asshole"

"We have a problem back there?" Coach Gaines said, standing at the front of the bus, glaring at Stan, Brian, and Donnie.

"No sir" they all mumbled.

Nicole hung around my house for a little bit after the game ended but eventually had to head home to change clothes; "I'm going to the airport to pick up Mike, do you want to come with, to see Donnie?" she asked, taking her keys out of her pocket.

"Oh uh…no we're gonna hang out alone tonight"

"I'm pretty sure they're gonna have a big party tonight, you sure you don't want to come out?"

"Nope, just gonna be me and Donnie" I smiled and opened the back door of the house; "Now if you'll excuse me… I have to shave my legs" I laughed.

Nicole rolled her eyes and stepped down off the porch; "Yeah yeah…have fun"

A few hours later Donnie and I were driving around Odessa looking for a spot to hang out alone. My mom was home, and so was Donnie's father so that ruled out either one of our houses. Everyone was at Comer's so we couldn't crash at Brian's or Nicole's. We drove around talking about the game for a bit then Donnie said he a great idea and pulled into the Ratliff stadium parking lot; "I think this is as alone as we're going to get" Donnie said putting the car in park.

I looked around and the sprawling parking lot was pitch dark; "Yeah" I said and leaned over and started to kiss him. Our shirts and my bra came off in the midst of the kissing.

"Back seat or you want to ride me baby?" Donnie asked, placing his hand on the side of my face; "I love you" he said and kissed the tip of my nose.

I giggled; "No more back seats for me, please"

"Right" Donnie laughed and took off his shoes, and his pants.

I got undressed then straddled him on the drivers seat; "Just remember to pull out this time, okay? For real"

"I promise" Donnie said and held onto my hips as I rocked back and forth with him deep inside me. He fondled my breasts, rubbed my thighs and smacked my ass while I worked. The last few times we had sex I've been on top, but Donnie always had to finish on top, or in a dominating position. About fifteen minutes later when Donnie was close to finishing he motioned for me to get off of him. I crouched on the passenger seat on my knees while Donnie jerked himself off; "Open your mouth" He came in my mouth and I gagged, almost spitting it everywhere in the car. I quickly opened the door and spit it out onto the ground; "What's wrong?" Donnie asked, offended; "You always swallow"

"Did you uh…" I asked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand; "Did you shower after the game, by any chance?"

Donnie started laughing; "No. Sorry. I kind of forgot"

"Forgot?" I yelled and threw his shirt at him; "Your nasty. Don't ever do that again"

Donnie rolled his eyes and got dressed, I did the same still wishing I could rinse my mouth out; "What do you want to do now?" he asked a few minutes later, tying his shoes; "Do you want to go to the party at Comers?"

I looked at my watch, it was only eleven; "Yeah, but in a little bit" I said and got out of the car. Donnie followed me to the back; "I just want to hang out with you for a little bit" I said and got up and sat on the trunk.

Donnie sat next to me; "That's fine" he said and offered me his leather jacket.

I put it on over my white t-shirt; "So has um…has Mike talked to you at all about this wedding that's supposed to be going on?"

"No, he hasn't said anything to me about it. Why?"

"Nicole already asked me to be one of the witnesses"

"Are you going to do it?"

I nodded my head; "Yeah"

"Do you know what your going to do after you graduate high school?" Donnie asked a few moments later, taking my hand and holding it in his; "Are you going to stick around?"

"Yeah but…"

"But what?"

"But only if I don't get into NYU"

Donnie sighed; "Why do you want to go NYU so bad?"

"It's a good college! It's a really good college, actually. I've always wanted to go there until…until I moved here. I mean I still want to go but I don't want to leave…I don't want to leave you, and I know I can't talk you into coming to New York"

"If you get accepted I want you to go"

I looked over at him; "You do?"

"Yeah. You know, I can come visit you and you can come back here, too"

"You would stay in a relationship with someone you hardly ever see?"

"For you, I'd do anything"

"What about all the other girls that will be on campus at whatever school you go to"

"You don't trust me? What about all the other guys that will on campus at NYU?" he retorted; "If we're going to be together we have to trust each other"

I sighed; "Well we have a long time to work on the trust and to see where we get accepted. Let's just get through the playoffs first"

"Did you apply to any local colleges?"

"Yeah a few, I applied to that college in Oklahoma you said you wanted to go to"

"You applied at ECU?"

"Yeah"

"Why?"

"For you"

Donnie laughed; "Maybe I should apply to NYU"

"Yeah, maybe" I laughed, and leaned into Donnie. He held me then we leaned back onto the windshield and looked up at the stars. It was beautiful; "You know I don't know where any of us will be next year, or five years from now but…you've made my senior year of high school pretty unforgettable"

"Yeah, you too, babe"

"If we stay together, and get engaged, or if we break up it doesn't really matter. I'll always remember and all of this"

"I'll always remember sitting in front of you in class, looking up at you in the stands at every one of my practices, drinking with you at the parties…" Donnie trailed off; "I'll always remember the day I met you too"

"Yeah I'm sure you will, in the condom section at Wal Mart"

We both started to laugh, then Donnie sat up. I sat up next to him and he kissed me. Something about that kiss was different from all the rest. The way his hand gently rested on my knee, and the way his lips gently brushed against mine the moment after the kiss where he didn't want to pull away. My heart skipped a beat and everything felt right; "I love you Kelly" he whispered.

"I love you too, Don"

Donnie got down off the trunk of the car and lifted me down, also. He opened the passenger door for me, then went around and got in the driver's side; "Where to?" I asked after he got in.

"Comer's for a little bit, I think we should make an appearance"

"Think I can sleep at your place tonight?"

Donnie started the car; "You think I'm really going to let you sleep alone, tonight?"

"Just uh one thing before we go over there"

"What?"

"Can we stop and get some mouthwash, or some gum or something? Please?"

Donnie started laughing and pulled out of the stadium parking lot: "Yeah yeah yeah…I'll take a shower when we get to my dads"


	25. Thanksgiving In New York

Chapter 24

Thanksgiving In New York

November 20th, 1988

The next morning I woke up laying next to Donnie in his bed; "Shit! What time is it?" I asked, suddenly sitting straight up in bed; "Donnie! Wake up!" I said hitting him.

"What's going on?" he asked, rolling over; "It's…seven thirty, why?"

"Shit! Come on, you have to drive me home" I said getting dressed quickly.

"Your mom isn't going to be mad, calm down" Donnie dragged himself out of bed and I was already dressed, had my shoes on, and was waiting by his door.

"Did you forget what today is?"

"Sunday? I don't game review today, why are you waking me up early?"

"I'm flying to New York today!"

Donnie pulled a t-shirt over his head; "I think I'm gonna go back to sleep" he said and climbed back in bed.

"Donnie! Come on!" I said throwing his keys at him.

Twenty minutes later we were finally on our way back to my house; "So I'll call you when I get there okay? My grandmother has long distance"

"I'll be home all day, call me when you can"

I sensed anger in his voice; "Donnie are you mad at me?"

"Hungover, yes. Angry no. Just a little worried about you going to New York"

"I'll be fine"

"Will you tell me if you hang out with Zac?"

I laughed as we pulled onto my street; "I will, but don't worry I don't think they'll be around"

We pulled into my driveway and my mom and Kevin were loading their suitcases into the car; "Nice to join us, Kelly" My mom said, laughing.

"Sorry mom" I said getting out of Donnie's car.

"Sorry ma'am" Donnie apologized.

"I thought you were sleeping over at Nicole's?" my mom asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked back and forth between Donnie and my mom; "Is that really the issue here? Are we going to be late?"

"Not if you hurry, I already packed your suitcase. Hurry"

"Okay, just give me a minute to say goodbye to Donnie"

"Hurry up! I don't want to be late!" Kevin yelled, after rolling down his window in the car; "Hi Donnie! I'm Kevin!"

Donnie waved, awkwardly; "Nice to meet you"

Donnie and I hugged and I gave him a quick kiss; "Sorry, I have to go"

"It's alright, call me tonight. I love you"

"I love you too, say goodbye to Nicole for me?"

Just as I was about to get in the car, Brian pulled up outside my house; "What is he doing here?" Donnie asked, with his arms still wrapped around me.

"Maybe he came to say goodbye?"

Brian got out of his car and ran up to us; "Hey guys"

"Hi Brian…" I said; "What are you doing here?"

"Well your going to New York today, thought I'd come see you off"

"Oh. Okay. Cool" I gave him a hug and he squeezed me really tight.

"Have a safe flight"

"Thanks"

"Oh and I was trying to get a hold of you a little bit ago, do you not answer your phone?" Brian asked, turning to Donnie.

"I didn't hear it ring, and we just left to come over here. What's up?"

"Gaines is throwing a practice this morning. Called all the captains and I got ahold of everyone but you, figured you be over here"

"Well there you go, something to keep you busy today so you won't miss me so much"

"That'll never happen" Donnie said and gave me one last kiss and hug.

"Kelly! Come on!" my mom yelled getting, into the drivers seat.

"Gotta go guys, see you on Friday!"

I got in and my mom pulled out of the driveway, I looked out the back window and saw Brian and Donnie standing there watching us leave, waving at me. I waved back, then turned around; "Who was that, Kelly?" my mom asked.

"Brian Chavez" I replied; "He stopped by here on Halloween"

"I remember him. Dressed as a Panther. How original" Kevin added, rolling his eyes.

"He came to see you off?"

"I guess" I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well that was nice of him" It was nice of him. By why did Brian give me such a big hug? I hope our conversations we've been having lately and the few times we've hung out without Donnie weren't being taken the wrong way; "So what are you two going to do when we get to New York?" my mom asked, excitedly.

November 23rd, 1988

The past few days in New York have been great. My dad's parents live in Manhattan and are very well off, living in a spacious apartment in the West Village. Since being in town we've gone out to the movies, gone to a few museums and embraced the New York City lifestyle again. It felt amazing to be back home. My grandmother and I were in her kitchen prepping food for the Thanksgiving meal the next day; "Help me peel potatoes, dear?" I nodded and got up from the table and walked over to the counter to help; "You know what your doing right?"

"Yes, Nana" I replied, taking a sharp knife out of the drawer.

"Well while you do that I'm going to start cutting apples for the pie" We worked alongside each other quietly for a few minutes; "How is Texas?" she finally asked.

I sighed; "It's alright I guess"

"Well between you and I, I think your mother is crazy for dragging you two down there" My grandmother had my father young, so she's still a hip grandmother who acts like she's in her twenties; "I offered you all to move in here until you graduated but you know your mother"

"Stubborn" we both said at the same time.

"She never told me that" I said shaking my head; "I can't believe that"

"Well I think your mother wanted to get away from any memory she has of your father" she said and started to tear up; "God, I miss him dearly. Every day"

I smiled at her; "I miss him too"

"You look like him you know"

My grandmother tells me this every time I see her; "Yeah, I hear that a lot"

"So go on…tell me. How is Texas? Make any friends?"

"Texas is alright. Hot" I replied; "Nicole is down there so she's made it tolerable"

"Boyfriend?"

I nodded and started to smile thinking about Donnie; "Yep. His name is Donnie. He's on the football team"

My grandmother rolled her eyes; "So your famous down there huh?"

I laughed; "Yeah pretty much. I miss him"

"Oh you'll be home in a few days" she laughed; "What about Zac?"

I almost dropped the potato I was peeling. They have met before, since Zac and I have known each other since we were kids but I didn't think she knew about us being together; "He's just a friend"

"Whatever you say dear"

My mother walked into the apartment a few minutes later, her hands full with bags from the market; "I hope I got everything Mrs. Gates" she said putting it down on the table; "Kelly are you…helping?" she asked in disbelief.

"She'd doing great" my grandmother said walking over to the bags.

"Hey Kelly I saw your friend down at the market"

"Yeah?" I asked, half interested; "Which one?"

"Zac"

Of course she would say Zac. Of course; "Oh yeah?" I went back to peeling my potatoe, not interested at all anymore.

"He was with Riana. They wanted me to tell you to meet them at the park"

"When?"

"In about an hour"

"Be home for dinner" My grandmother chimed in.

I put the knife and potato down; "Should I go?" I asked, looking at my mother.

"Yes! Why wouldn't you go? Kevin has been out with his friends since we got here, why don't you go have some fun?"

"Well I'm not in Texas mom, that's why" I laughed.

"Donnie isn't here" my grandmother said, emptying the grocery bags: "Bet that has something to do with it. Just go dear. No one said you can't have more than one boyfriend"

My mom stared at her mother in law for a minute or two, in shock; "Awkward" I whispered; "Alright, I'm leaving. I'll be back in a little bit"

"Be careful"

"Yes mother" I said, putting on my coat and grabbing my bag; "Be back for dinner"

I walked a few blocks to the subway and caught a train uptown to Central Park. Our group had a "spot" in the park. On a certain set of stairs by the boat pond. I took my camera out of my bag and snapped a few pictures for everyone back in Texas. As I was snapping pictures I looked over at the steps and saw Zac, Riana, Bobby, Lisa, Greg, Scott and another boy sitting there staring at me, laughing; "So your doing the tourist thing, now huh?" Zac laughed as I walked over to them.

"Shut up" I stashed the camera in my bag, smiling.

Well hugged each other and they pulled me down onto the stairs; "Welcome home" Riana said, smiling from ear to ear; "I missed you"

"Yeah well I wish you guys would have called or wrote"

"Well you never gave us your number or address, we were waiting for you to write us"

I looked at Zac, he looked at me nervously then looked away. I gave Zac my address and new house phone number the morning I left New York but he must have never given it out. Explains that one; "Sorry. Well I'm here now. What's new? What's going on?"

"Zac and Riana are together now" Lisa blurted out; "So we have to deal with that everyday"

"Yeah?" I asked looking at them, they were holding hands and gushing over each other. I was glad they were together because it took the pressure off of me, but I wasn't sure if Riana knew he and I were together before I left; "How long?"

"A few weeks after you left, actually" Riana said, excitedly.

"What about you? How's Texas?"

"It's alright. Hot, but it's treating me good"

We sat around talking for a good while, and I was finally introducing to the "new guy"; "This is Cory, by the way" Bobby said introducing us as we left Central Park; "He's been hanging with us since you left"

"I get replaced? Just like that? I didn't know we did that" I laughed.

"Bobby found him sleeping on a bench one night after his family were shot in a drive by" Lisa explained to me.

I looked at Cory; "Sorry. I didn't know"

"No hard feelings" he smiled; "Don't worry about it"

"So Kelly, what do you say? Out for the night getting shit faced?" Greg asked.

"Oh…no…I can't do that"

Zac stopped walking and held his hands up to his chest and pretended to catch his breath. He fell to the ground suddenly; "Did the earth stop moving?Am I dying? Did Kelly just say she…can't go out and get shit faced?" he laid on the ground, sprawled out on his back, his legs and arms extended.

"Zac. Get up. Your probably laying in dog piss" I stated.

"Why can't you come out?" Greg asked; "Your staying through Thanksgiving right?"

"Yeah, well I'm staying at my grandmother. I have to be home for dinner. Sorry"

"You went soft on us, huh?" Scott asked we we continued to walk; "How are the parties down in Alabama?"

"Texas, Scott. I moved to Texas"

He shook his head; "Same thing"

I laughed; "No the parties are really badass, actually. Every Friday after a football game there is one"

Everyone rolled their eyes; "So when are you coming back?" Riana asked.

"I don't know. Applied to NYU, waiting to hear back from them. But if I get denied I'll probably stay in Texas"

"Why the fuck would you stay in Texas?" Zac yelled, and started laughing.

"You start drinking already, Zac?" I asked staring at him.

He looked me up and down before answering; "Maybe"

"I have a boyfriend in Texas. We're pretty serious. I might stay down there"

"I'm happy for you" Riana said looking me in the eye; "That's awesome"

"I'm happy for you, too" I said watching her and Zac walk hand in hand down the street.

Part of me wanted to go out and party late at night with my friends. Part of me wanting to go back to my grandmother's and peel more potatoes. A lot of me wanted to catch the next plane to Texas. It didn't feel right to walk the streets with my friends anymore. It seemed they were still only interested in going out an getting drunk, and making trouble; "Listen guys, I'm gonna head home"

"Really?" Greg asked as we stopped walking to cross the street; "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired, I'm gonna call it a night. Hey, let's try to get together tomorrow alright? After the meal, when everyone is passed out on turkey"

"Sounds good" Bobby smiled; "Bring your fake I.D."

"You know it" I gave Bobby and Riana my grandmother's phone number and told them to call me the following day so we could hang out; "Sorry guys, just not in the mood right now to party"

"It's all good" Zac said and gave me a hug; "More for me"

"Yeah, more for you guys"

We all hugged and said our goodbyes and I caught a train back to my grandmothers.

November 25th, 1988

Wednesday and Thanksgiving were perfect. My grandparents had a few friends and family over and it was nice to be together again. I stayed up late that night waiting for Riana or Bobby to call to hang out but I didn't hear anything. I passed out around midnight after packing my bags for my flight.

I woke up this morning and scarfed down a huge breakfast my grandmother prepared. As I was finishing up my pancakes my brother threw the newspaper down in front of me. Riana, Bobby, Lisa, Greg, Zac, Cory, and Scott's faces were plastered across the front page; "What the -" I cut myself off when my grandmother looked over my shoulder.

"Seven arrested for stealing cop car" she read; "Crazy kids"

"Grandma, that's Zac" I pointed to his mugshot; "That's Zac"

"Oh. Oh goodness. I'm sorry" she said putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I can't believe it" Kevin said sitting across from me; "I read the article. They tried to drive it around for a bit before-" I cut him off and walking into the living room to read the article. I could't believe what I was reading; "Were't you just hanging out with them?" he asked, taking a bite of bacon; "You could have been there"

"Yeah" I nodded and handing him back the paper; "I was supposed to meet up with them"

"Well thank God you didn't" My grandmother smiled; "You know better"

"Yeah" I nodded; "I feel bad though"

"Don't" My mom, who had been quiet the entire time and was now reading over the paper; "They chose that. They deserve everything that comes to them"

"You would make me sit there if I was with them, huh?"

"Your darn right I would!"

I glanced at the paper once more then went into my bedroom and grabbed my stuff. We all said goodbye to my grandparents and got ready to leave; "Hey Nana you mind if I take this with me?" I asked picking up the newspaper.

"Why would you want that?"

I sighed, looking at my friends mugshots; "They won't believe this in Odessa"

She smiled and nodded at me; "It's all yours dear"

We left my grandmother's apartment and got a cab for the airport. In a few hours I would be back in Odessa. I could't wait to be back with Donnie, Nicole, Brian, and Mike. The people I hung out with in Odessa were different from my friends in New York, people in Texas are more laid back, and kids got away with murder down there. They knew how to party and have a good time but none of my friends would do anything to put them in jail or jeopardize what they have going for them.

It's one thing to drink and hang out until the morning hours, but it's another thing to get questioned by the police about a possible robbery, and to steal a cop car at the same me. What were they thinking? I read that drugs were involved and everyone was over the legal limit for alcohol. Maybe time in jail would help them. I had no idea my friends were in this deep, and that they had pulled Riana into it.

I went back and forth over the issue in my head the entire flight to Texas but when we landed I knew I wouldn't be going back to New York City any time soon.


	26. One Step Closer

Chapter 25

One Step Closer

Odessa Texas

When we got to Odessa it was a little after two. I unpacked my belongings and took a shower then got dressed and sat down at the kitchen table. I looked through the big pile of mail that accumulated since we were gone, then read through the article in the newspaper from New York again. I was already bored.

I wanted to see my friends so I decided to walk the few blocks over to Nicole's house. I threw my hooded sweatshirt on then walked towards the front door, when I opened it I was shocked to see Brian standing there with his hand up, just about to knock; "Uh hey" he laughed; "I was….just going to knock"

"Beat you to it" I said, awkwardly and stepped outside; "What's uh…what's up?"

"Not much. Just wanted to come by and see how your trip was. Welcome back"

"Thanks"

"Did you just get home?"

"Yeah about an hour ago. I'm going to head over to Nicole's"

"I don't think she's home" Brian, said stopping me.

I looked at him, confused; "Why do you say that?"

"She's out with Winchell"

"Oh" I laughed and sat down on the front stoop; "They get married yet?" I laughed.

Brian sat down next to me; "No not yet"

"So since you seem to know what everyone is up to…where's Donnie?"

"Home. We're all meeting up at Buddy's Burgers in a little bit" he said, looking down at his watch; "I can give you a ride over there if you want"

I looked at Brian's car that was parked on the street outside my house. It was _the_ car. That's where all the Permian High School drama started and where Donnie and I had sex together for the first time; "Sure" I laughed; "What the hell"

Brian laughed and shook his head; "So how was New York?"

"Hold on a second, I'll show you" I said and ran inside and grabbed the newspaper and brought it back out to Brian; "Well that happened"

Brian took it and looked it over; "You know them?"

"Yeah, my best friends back home. I was hanging out with them earlier that day and was supposed to meet them later but I didn't go"

Brian skimmed the article; "Good decision" he smirked and handed it back to me.

"Yeah. You can say that again. So what about Odessa? Anything happen while I was gone?"

"I wouldn't know, I've been at football practice every minute of every day" he laughed; "Coach is riding us pretty hard, we need to win the next two games - to get to state"

"Nervous?"

"No. I know what's going to happen" he stated, calmly.

"What's that?"

Brian stared at me for a moment; "We're going to win"

I've heard Brian say those exact words before; "I know" I smiled.

"Listen we should uh head over there, Donnie said he was gong to meet me at three thirty" Brian suggested, looking at his watch again; "Ready?"

Of course I was ready to see Donnie (and everyone else) after almost a week apart; "Yeah! Let's go!" I said excitedly and jumped up out of my seat, and got into his car - the front seat this time.

Brian pulled away from my house and for a few minutes the ride was quiet and awkward, until Brian spoke up; "Listen, there's a reason why I came by your house"

I smiled; "Yeah, I kind of figured"

"I wanted to talk to you before you saw everyone else"

"Why is that?"

"Well…since you've been in New York the school has been talking about…us"

"Us?"

"You know, we've hung out a few times and I've walked you to class and I guess people started talking and think we're together"

"That's crazy! Everyone knows I'm with Donnie!"

"I know" he laughed; "Listen, don't let it bother you. It will probably blow over by Monday anyway, after we win this weekend"

"So you wanted to hang out with me to tell me the school is talking about me again? I could have just found out on Monday"

He shrugged his shoulders; "And... there _is_ something I have to get off my chest"

"What's that?" I asked and looked over at him.

Brian is always the cool, calm, collected one and not one to get nervous or hide his true feelings, and today was no different; "Well, Kelly. Truth is, I've had a crush on you since we met" I burst out laughing at that point. I knew something was going on and seeing how serious Brian was taking this conversation was humorous to me; "Why are you laughing?"

"Because I knew something was up"

"Well I'm serious Kelly! But, you know, after you and Billingsley got together I had to let it go. That's why I get so pissed off when he treats you like garbage. But I wanted you to know so it's one less thing I have to think about. I just wanted to tell you so I could clear my head"

"Okay" I nodded; "Well…thanks? Awkward…"

We both laughed, and he stopped at a stop light just a block from Buddy's Burgers; "Just don't tell Donnie anything, alright? He doesn't need to get the wrong idea"

"This conversation never happened. Are we cool?"

"Yeah. We're good"

We waited at the stop light in silence. I kind of wished Brian never told me that he's liked me since he met me. It makes sense, but I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing that. I just hoped it wouldn't make anything awkward when we all hung out together.

I tried to focus my thoughts on Donnie and how excited I was to see him again. A smile crept on my face and I knew that I was back home where I belonged in Odessa with my crazy friends. Brian, "The Mexican" as I have officially nicknamed him, who just admitted to me he likes me, Mike who holds a grudge with me because I don't like the idea of him marrying my cousin, Nicole who was the best friend, and cousin, one could ask for, and Donnie. Donnie was my everything. All I needed to be happy in Odessa was in Donnie and I couldn't wait to get my hands on him.

When we got to Buddy's Burgers I got out of Brian's car quickly and walked through the crowd looking for Donnie. I finally spotted the back of his black jersey, he was sitting a table with a bunch of other guys around him, they were talking loudly and laughing. Mike and Nicole were sitting at a separate table next to him, they noticed me, but I motioned for them to keep quiet. I walked up behind Donnie and put my hands over his eyes; "Guess who?" I asked, cheerfully.

Donnie laughed and turned around in his seat, engulfing me a big hug; "Hey baby" he kissed me and pulled me into his lap, then I sat next to him; "Glad you back" he said, rubbing his hand on the inside of my thigh.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, playfully.

"Hey Billingsly we'll see you at practice" one of the guys Donnie was talking to before I showed up, said and everyone left the table.

"Later guys" Donnie yelled after them and took a sip of his soda; "You just get back?" he asked, taking a bite of his cheeseburger, and Mike and Nicole joined us at the table.

"Yeah, got back a little bit ago"

"How was it?" Nicole asked, excitedly.

"Cold" I laughed; "But it was nice. Just hung out. What did you guys do?"

"Well we had the fire department at my house" Donnie laughed; "My dad can't cook for shit, especially after he's been drinking"

We exchanged stories of our Thanksgiving's, all the while Donnie couldn't keep his hands off of me and I knew he only had one thing on his mind after a few days apart; "So you have practice tonight?" I pouted. I was hoping we could spend the rest of the afternoon and night together, alone.

Donnie nodded his head; "Until nine"

"Nine?" I groaned; "That sucks"

"Gotta get ready for the game tomorrow"

"I know…but still" I laughed.

"It's not funny. We need to be perfect" Mike said, glaring at me.

Nicole and Donnie looked at me, knowing that Mike and I no longer got along and were worried that I would snap at him; "You guys are already perfect" I stated, coldly.

Nicole looking at Mike, and back at me, cautiously; "Are you going to the game with me tomorrow? It's in Irving. About six hours from here"

"Yeah I want to go, if it's alright if I get a ride"

"That's fine"

Mike, who getting more annoyed as every second passed that he had to sit across from me, spoke up; "We should go Donnie. Don't want to be late" He kissed Nicole goodbye, then quickly got up, threw out his garbage and hustled to Donnie's car.

"Really wish you two would work out your differences" Donnie laughed; "He hasn't exactly been the easiest person to get along with lately"

"One day" I said rolling my eyes, then Nicole read my thoughts and we both said; "After the season" at the same time.

Donnie smiled; "Well anyway, I'll see you…" he kissed me goodbye "After practice"

He took his red hat, that I had worn to New York, off my head and put it back on his; "Love you"

"Love you too too"

Nicole and I stayed at Buddy's Burgers for about an hour catching up. She told me that Mike and her have been attached at the hip recently and he's been sneaking into her house at night, or they've been getting hotel rooms at night so they can be together; "Our behavior is starting to mirror each other's" I laughed; "Who would have thought?"

"Well it's the only way we can really be together. He won't let anyone stay at his house and my mom wouldn't let me even he wanted me to"

"So your using the imaginary friend excuse, aren't you?"

"Well your back now, so I can say I'm at your house again" she replied; "You know, It's going to be weird when we're married and both still living at home. I don't want to sneak around to see my own husband" she laughed.

I glared at her; "Can we just go watch the practice, now?"

After another grueling practice I met Donnie at his car in the parking lot; "Hey sexy" he said, pressing his sweaty body against mine as I stood at the drivers side door; "You ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Donnie just laughed and kissed me; "I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep my hands off you the whole drive back to my house"

"So what do you uh…suggest?" I said, sliding my hands under his shirt and caressing his chest; "A rendezvous at the pit, maybe?"

"I like the way you think" he said and kissed me; "Get in"

Donnie drove like a madman up to the pit and we made it in record time. We got out of the car in a rush and Donnie opened the trunk and rummaged through it in the dark; "What are you looking for?" He didn't answer me, and instead pulled out a large blanket; "The ground?" He nodded; "It's cold!"

Needless to say, Donnie's good looks and smooth talking got me undressed and laying on the ground ready to accept him; "You know…maybe just once we could have a romantic night in a hotel room or something?" I joked; "Where it's warm!"

"Can you uh…wait until after the season is over?" he asked, in-between loud grunts and moans. The on going joke of "after the season is over" was growing old, but it was the last thing on my mind right now. One of the positives about being out in the middle of nowhere was that no one could hear you scream in ecstasy. We hadn't been with each other in a few days and we were both already turned on so it didn't last long, which was fine by me because there were a few rocks and sticks poking out from under the blanket.

After we cleaned up and got dressed Donnie and I sat on the hood of the car wrapped in the blanket together; "I really missed you while you were gone, Kelly"

"I'm pretty sure I missed you more"

"No, you weren't back her watching Mr. and Mrs. Winchell twenty-four, seven"

"Be that was fun" I rested my head on his shoulder and he leaned his head on mine.

"So what's up with you and Brian?"

His question took me off guard and for a moment I was speechless; "What do you mean?"

"A few guys have been telling me you two spend a lot of time together"

"Not a lot of time together. Just a few times hanging out after school. He's walked me to class. That's all" I said, truthfully.

"You two showed up together earlier"

I wanted to know how he knew that, since I had a hard time finding him at Buddy's Burgers, but I figured one of the guys on the team told him at practice; "He showed up at my house then gave me a ride"

"Why?"

"Maybe you should talk to Brian about that"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I was surprised that Donnie wasn't getting angry, and was instead very concerned and gentle with his questioning; "How did he know you were home?"

"I don't know" I replied, sighing; "But he's your friend, if you have a problem with him hanging out with me just tell him"

"Do you have a problem with it? Because if you do i can handle it"

I smiled up at him; "No. No problem. Just kind of weird you know? I wanted you to be the first person I saw when I got back"

"That would have been nice" He cleared his throat; "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow on the way to the game"

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

He shook his head; "Stressed about it. Coach Gaines is really putting a lot of pressure on us. You know, everyone wants us to win, just hoping we don't let anyone down"

"You won't. You just have to know you went out and did your best you know? Who cares what everyone else thinks?"

"It's just my last chance, you know? Our last season, last chance to make it"

"You'll make it. I know you will"

"Thanks baby" he kissed my forehead; "I'm glad you'll be there"

"Wouldn't miss it"

Donnie cleared his throat; "So I was thinking…" he trailed off then squeezed my hand that he was holding under the blanket; "Do you think…Kelly…."

"Yeah?" I asked, laughing; "What is it Donnie?"

"Well you know how Mike and Nicole want to get married?"

"Yeah"

"And you said it was a bad idea?"

"It is"

"Well…would it be a bad idea if you and I got married?"

I could feel my face burning from blushing so much, and I couldn't control the large smile on my face; "No, unlike you and I, they are getting married so Nicole can get out of Texas. You and I love each other"

"I want to Kelly. I want to marry you. One day"

I cuddled up with Donnie even closer and moved my arm to around his waist; "Me too. One day"

We stayed at the pit for a while longer, until both of us were passing out on each other. It was a long day, and an even longer one followed tomorrow.

Nicole and I, and other devoted fans from Odessa, followed the Permian Panthers to Irving Texas to face off against the Nimitz High School Vikings. They were ranked sixth in the state, but weren't good enough to beat the boys in black. We won forty-one to seven.

The following Saturday Lamar High School visited from Arlington Texas and returned home knowing they wouldn't be making it to State. Permian won twenty one to seven, and would be advancing to the Texas State Championship.

In fifteen days the team, the school, the town, hell…the entire state of Texas would be watching as the Permian Panthers face off against Carter High School Cowboys from Dallas.

We made it. Now all we had to do…was win.


	27. Feels Like We're Going To War

Chapter 26

Feels Like We're Going To War

December 17th, 1988

Odessa Texas

In a few hours we would be making the trip from Odessa to Austin for the last game of the playoffs against Dallas Carter. Whoever won tonight would be advancing to the Texas State Championship. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Permian Panthers would advance, win, and take home the title.

The buses were leaving Ratliff Stadium at nine o'clock sharp. I slept over at Nicole's house the night before, but even with two alarms set we overslept and almost didn't make it to the stadium in time to see them off.

Nicole threw her truck in park and we both bolted to the bus just in time. Donnie let out a sign of relief and gave me a big hug but wouldn't crack a smile; "Sorry I'm late" I said, kissing him. He stared at me and I knew he was nervous; "You'll do great"

He nodded; "I'll see you after the game"

"Yeah. I'll be there. I love you"

"I love you too"

He kissed my cheek and I held onto his arm for a moment; "Remember Donnie, it's just a game" I whispered.

Donnie looked me in the eye; "Yeah"

I didn't let his attitude or lack of affection bother me. I could only imagine how I would act if I was in his situation. Brian came up to me out of nowhere and gave me a hug; "Hey Brian" I said, caught off guard and hugged him back.

"Coming to the game?" he asked, excitedly.

"Of course" I said, pointing to my jersey, Nicole and I were decked out in our black and white including our boyfriend's home jerseys.

"Alright, well I'll see you after then"

"Good luck Brian" I smiled at him.

He smiled back and botched up the steps of the bus. Cool, calm, and collected Chavez was a new nickname for Brian, as of today.

Nicole and I stood there, proud as ever, and watched the buses pull away from the stadium; "Come on" Nicole said, turning and walking back to her truck; "We have to join the parade" Classmates, friends, family, and local townsfolk were all making the six hour drive to Austin. I have never seen a town so unified in something before.

Just for a game.

Many call the David W Carter High School Cowboys the best high school football team in the state - if not the country. The players on the team are all of African American descent and come from an all African American upper middle class high school. The football obsession in Dallas is nothing compared to the one here in Odessa. Players skipped class all the time, left school to go to lunch, and often had their grades fixed by teachers just so that they will be able to play.

One such case involved a teacher, William Bates who refused to lie about a players algebra grade. The case earned city wide attention but in the end, the case won and Dallas Carter, along with player Gary Edwards, was able to continue the season, must to everyone's dismay.

Earlier this week the coaches of both teams met to decide where the game would be played. Permian wanted the game played in Odessa, and Carter wanted the game played in Dallas. Eventually everyone agreed on Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin. After many disagreements regarding a referee crew, they agreed on a mixed racial crew so there that there would be no bias.

Inside the locker room at the stadium in Austin Brian, Mike, and Donnie sat side by side on a bench gearing up for the game; "Did you think it was going to be this big?" Mike asked, taping up his wrists.

"Yeah" Brian replied, confidently.

"Bullshit, man"

"I did"

"You act like that. You think it's just a game. Something to check off your list" he replied, smugly; "Know what I think?"

Brian slammed his locker shut, after taking his gear out; "What's that?"

"I think you're scared just like the rest of us. But I think you're smart enough to see that one day when you look back from whatever big job or big house, or whatever it is that you got, that when you look back at this time, I dare you to beat it. I dare you"

"It's just a game" Brian repeated pulling his jersey on over his pads.

Donnie, who had been quiet while Brian and Mike exchanged words; "It doesn't feel like just a game to me"

"So what's it feel like?" Brian asked, smiling.

"Feels like...feels like we're going to war"

Brian, Mike, and Donnie all exchanged glances, and continued to get ready without saying another word to one another.

Nicole and I sat through mile after mile of traffic that slowly crept up to the stadium. Parking took forever, and by the time we got inside the stadium and in our seats, we were two plays in after kickoff. On our way to our seats we saw Mike get sacked in the end zone for a safety. Carter had the ball now, and they rushed down the sideline and into the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of the game; "Shit" I said and hung my head, running my hand through my hair; "Here we go"

"It's not over yet" Nicole reminded me; "It just started" Carter scored again a few plays later, and were ahead by eighteen; "Um...Kelly?" Nicole asked, nudging me with her elbow.

"What?" I asked picking at the skin around my fingernails nervously; "What's up?"

"Did you um...bring anything to this game?"

I looked over at her and cracked a smile; "Game getting to you?"

She nodded; "I feel like my heart is going to jump out of my chest"

"This might help" I said slipping my backpack off; "Maybe" I handed her a water bottle filled with orange juice and vodka.

Throughout the first half Mike was sacked over and over again, it was painful to watch. Chavez, despite being a great defensive tackle, was getting run over every time he tried to make a play. To top it all off, Comer wasn't able to get past the line of scrimmage. Not once.

Finally, a few plays before the end of the half, Christian intercepted a pass and ran it back to the four line yard. They score on the next play and brought the score up eighteen to seven. Everyone in the stands rooting for Permian - there weren't a lot of us in a sea of red - went crazy! Finally! Our boys were on the board!

"Give me a shot" I said taking the water bottle out of Nicole's hand.

She was feeling a little tipsy and handed me the bottle; "Herrre you go" she slurred.

While I chugged down some of the good stuff, Carter scored again. Shit.

Down by nineteen is not how we wanted to enter half time.

Inside the locker room the coaching staff went over plays, adjusted their strategy and prayed for a win. Donnie and Brian sat next to each other on a bench, sweat dripping form their brows, their helmets in their hands, and their eyes staring at the ground; "Are we going to let them kick our ass?" Donnie asked, looking over at Brian.

"Not if I have anything to do about it. After this it's just babies and memories" he replied, as calmly as ever. They both looked up and saw Mike pacing the locker room. He hadn't removed his helmet or sat down, or done anything else but pace since entering the locker room. Donnie opened his mouth to say something to him but Brian stopped him; "Don't Let him be"

Christian, who had been quiet the entire night, finally started talking and went on a tirade of yelling, swearing, and kicking over garbage cans letting his teammates know his frustration; "What's wrong with y'all? Y'all playing like some little girls! Y'all act like you never played football before! These guys are nothing! They bleed just like we do and sweat just like we do!" he went on; "They went through two-a-days! We went through two-a-days in one hundred and ten degree heat! I want you to hit everything that moves!" he said, eyeing Brian; "If the ref gets in your way - you hit the ref! They're against us too! This is our team! This is us! Let's go right now!" he said putting his hand above his head and everyone gathered round for a team chantl "Let's get it off now and let's go!"

Then Coach Gaines stood in the middle of the room to say his peace and calm the players down again; "I want you to take a moment, and I want you to look each other in the eyes. I want you to put each other in your hearts forever because forever is about to happen here in just a few minutes. I want you to close your eyes, and i want you to think about Boobie Miles, who is your brother, and he would die to be out there on that field with you tonight. And I want you to put that in your hearts" the room was silent as the players looked around at each other; "Boys my heart is full. My heart is full. I've seen you fight. I've seen you not quit. Can you give me a great effort and just a little bit more? Can you be perfect? Gentlemen, the hopes and dreams of an entire town are riding on your shoulders. You may never matter again in your life as much as you do right now"

With that, Christian led the team in a prayer, and they marched back on the field.

There was a complete reversal of power in the second half. Chavez and Christian made bigger hits on defense and Mike led the team to a touchdown early in the third quarter to bring the score to 26-14. Permian then forced a Carter fourth down, and they went for it but the pass bounced off the turf and is incomplete. However, the only ref nearby, and close enough to see the play, was African American and ruled it a catch!

"What the fuck! Raciest pricks!" I yelled, and started screaming at the refs, along with the majority of the other Permian fans in attendance. On the next play, Carter scored another touchdown; "Dammit!" I screamed and sat back down; "I fucking hate Dallas!"

"Girrrrrl, me toooooo" Nicole said, slugging back more of the good stuff.

I looked at her and had to smile, at least we were having a good time, and for the first time in a long while weren't at each other's throats over a wedding, or unprotected sex. Was that all I had to do to get the "old Nicole" back? Give her my alcohol?

Permian came back a few plays later and scored another touchdown, the score now 34-21. After the play a fight broke out in the end zone and wouldn't you know, number four was right in the middle of the action. Comer got the ball and finally made a big play, running toward the end zone - taunting the Dallas cheerleaders along the way - and bringing the score to a close 34 - 28.

Carter is then forced to another fourth down, this time a fourth and one. Gaines set up a play, and Christina and Smith blew into the backfield to stop the play with less than two minutes left in the game - when Donnie gets tackled and falls to the ground in pain! When the play is singled dead, Donnie walked off the field with a trainer holding his right arm; "Issss he okayyyy?" Nicole slurred, watching Donnie along the sidelines.

"I hope so" I said, standing up; "I think they are going to pop it back in or something"

"I dddddon't wanna look"

"Here" I said, handing her back the water bottle; "Just finish the damn thing" I laughed. The trainer had Donnie lay down on a folding table the medical team set up on the sidelines. Donnie gripped a towel in his mouth and screamed in agony as the trainer popped the shoulder back in. My shoulder started to hurt just watching the procedure from the stands. Poor Donnie.

Mike started to lead Permian down the field, play after play, until Comer got hurt, twisting his ankle. Mike completed a play to get into the ten yard line with less than a minute now to play. Gaines looks over at Donnie and nods him back into the game; "He can't be serious!" I screamed and sat back down and buried my head in my hands; "Now I don't want to look"

"I'd offfffffer you some drinky drink but..."

"There's none left?'

"Nope" Nicole smiled and handed me the empty bottle.

On the next play Donnie surprised everyone and ran the ball to the one yard line for a first down. This it it! We're going to win it!

But once again, the refs call a penalty on Permian. Great. Holding. We now have one play, and one play only, to make a touchdown and secure our spot at state.

"I can't look" I moaned, and once again, buried my head in my hands.

"Me eithersssss" Nicole said and turned her head and rested it on my shoulder.

Mike dropped back to pass, and was nearly tackled by the Carter rush. I kept my eyes shut tightly and could only hear the crowd around me reacting to the play. Without a receiver open Mike went for it, and ran down the field. But is stopped a the one yard line.

Stopped at the one yard line.

Just like that.

Permian lost.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the entire Carter team rush the field to celebrate.

It was a sea of red with stray white Permian players collapsed on the field exhausted, in disbelief, and visibly upset.

Their dream of going to state...shattered.


	28. Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 28

'Till Death Do Us Part

Nicole and I sat in disbelief over what had just happened. They weren't going to state. It was over. No more practices, no more games, no more parties after the games. This was it.

I looked down onto the field to see Donnie laying on his stomach, fists pumping the ground in anger and Mike on his knees with blood staining the front of his jersey, looking around in disbelief. Donnie got to his knees, still unable to grasp what has just happened. Brian came over to them and bent down beside Mike, comforting his quarterback. The coaching staff was on the field patting everyone on the back, or helmet, assuring them they did a good job.

I sighed, and tears started to cascade down my face. As I was wiping them away, I caught eyes with Charlie, who was sitting a few rows down from us. He nodded at me, then left the stands and walked onto the field.

"What'sssss he gonna do?" Nicole asked.

I didn't answer her; "Come on, let's get out of here"

Charlie walked up to his son on the field and hugged him, slipping his Texas State Championship ring on his son's finger.

We waited outside for at least an hour for the guys to come out. People walked past us and would point or stare. Some of the other girlfriends of the players would apologize to us, sympathetically. Coach Gaine's wife and daughter walked past and smiled, knowingly; "It will be okay girls" she whispered.

"Thank you Mrs. Gaines" I replied, looking up at her.

"You have a ride back to town?"

"Yes ma'am" Nicole, who has continued to sober up, replied.

"Well you girls have a good night then" She stood there for a moment, then walked away slowly, comforting her daughter.

"I feel like we're a part of the Salem Witch Trials or something" I joked.

Nicole sighed; "No jokes right now, okay Kelly?"

I scooted over to her and leaned on her. The one thing I wanted to do more than cry at that very moment, was hug Donnie and see how he was doing. I didn't know what to say though. Sorry? You did good? Would he even want to talk? We had a long drive back to town. Maybe it would be better if we just waited until tomorrow to talk? I closed my eyes and tried to relax, I was getting a headache from all the goings-on.

A few minutes later Nicole noticed the buses pull up to the stadium, they must have gotten word that the team was ready to leave. The parking lot was pretty deserted, just some security guards and a few stragglers. We stood up and walked over to the buses, hoping to see our guys before they left town.

Brian was one of the first people out of the locker room. He noticed us and walked over, with his duffle bag crossed over his chest and over one shoulder, and his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket; "Hey" he said, nodding to us.

"Hey Brian" I said, almost whispering.

"Mike and Donnie will be out soon" We didn't say anything and Brian nodded, looking over his shoulder to the bus; "Late night tonight"

"Us too" Nicole spoke up.

"Don't be sad alright?" he asked in the most gentle tone.

I nodded, and tears started to fall from my eyes again; "I'm sorry Brian"

"Don't be" he shook his head; "I'll see you guys tomorrow"

"See ya Chavez"

A few minutes later Mike and Donnie walked out. Mike was wearing basketball shorts and his jersey, and was shook up. He almost walked past us, but Donnie grabbed his arm and pointed in our direction. Donnie was wearing jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, and his red baseball cap. They both walked over to us, their heads hanging; "Hi" Mike said, standing in front of Nicole.

"Hi" They stood there awkwardly for a few minutes until Nicole wrapped her arms around him and I could hear him sobbing on her shoulder, a few minutes later, Nicole joined him.

Donnie dropped his bag at my feet and immediately gave me a big hug when he saw me; "Hey baby"

I squeezed him back just as hard as he was squeezing me; "How are you doing?"

He sighed; "I uh... don't want to talk about it"

"Yeah" I was kind of relieved he had said that. I wasn't quite ready to talk about it either, or cry my eyes out again; "How's your shoulder?"

Our embrace ended and he stood in front of me, holding my hands in his; "Hurts" he replied, in his rugged, manly voice; "A lot"

"I'm sorry"

"Me too"

"For what?"

"Losing"

"Donnie..."

"It's not just a game, Kelly" he said, looking down at the state ring his dad had given him; "It's...well it was so much more"

"Yeah. I got that now"

Coach Gaines was out of the locker room now and doing a head count to load the buses; "I gotta go" he said and took his baseball cap off; "Here" he placed it on my head over my messy hair; "I want to see you when I get home tonight. It will be late though"

"I'll be up. Tap on the basement window okay?"

He smiled; "I will" he kissed my cheek; "Love you"

The boys boarded the buses and Nicole and I found her truck in the parking lot. Since Nicole had drank more than I did I was recruited to drive the six hours home. I was hoping to get some sleep on the ride before meeting Donnie in the wee hours of the morning but...I guess that's what first period is for.

December 19th, 1988

3: 34 a.m.

I arrived at my mother's house around two thirty a.m. I took a shower and changed my clothes then laid down to get some sleep. Donnie tapped on the basement window about fifteen minutes later, just as I was passing out. I grabbed my book bag for school, and snuck out.

Donnie was waiting for me on the curb, leaning against his father's car; "This should be against the law" I teased and got in the passenger seat.

"I just wanted to see, alone, before I saw anyone else" Donnie said, starting the car; "Thanks for coming"

I turned to him and smiled; "No problem" I threw my book bag in the backseat and noticed there were some pillows and a blanket back there; "Where are we going?"

Donnie smiled as he leaned back in his seat and drove through town in the pitch dark. His headlights shown on the empty street ahead of us when he stopped at a stop light in the middle of main street. The ceremonial "Gone To The Game" signs were still hanging on business doors, and some white and black balloons were still tied to lamp posts and parking meters. The helium in them had started to drain so they were drooping; "I feel like we've let everyone down"

I turned to him and my heart was breaking. Always the partier, and always focused on football, Donnie never showed much emotion; "You didn't let anyone down" The light turned green and Donnie kept driving, not saying another word. We finally arrived at our destination. Ratliff Stadium; "What are we doing here?"

"Just wanted to come here with you one more time" he said, taking off his seatbelt; "I can't believe the season is over"

"Yeah. Me either" I sighed; "It was a good season though"

He leaned his head on the seat and looked over at me; "A good season?"

"Sorry Donnie..."

"You know I knew football was important, that's why I played but. I knew everyone was counting on us too...it just really hit me when...when they won. We let everyone down. Coach, my dad, you...everyone"

"Me? You didn't let me down. You could never let me down, Donnie"

He rubbed his eyes; "It's just a lot to have on your shoulders"

"I can't imagine"

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, both of us nodding off. Donnie woke up suddenly, a few minutes later and slipped off his shoes; "Get in the back" he said, squeezing my knee.

I jumped awake, and squinted at him; "Huh?"

"Get in the back"

"What? Now? You wanna-"

"Sleep?" he interrupted me; "Yeah, I wanna go to sleep" I took off my shoes and sat in the back seat. Donnie sat on one side and slouched, propping a pillow against the window. He patted his lap and I laid down, my head rested on his leg. I draped the blanket over me and tried to get comfortable; "You okay?"

"Perfect"

"I love you beautiful"

"I love you too, Don"

"Just think" he said, adjusting himself, taking the hat off my head and put it on himself, coring his eyes; "One good thing about the season..."

"Yeah?"

"You and I get to do this more often"

I yawned; "Hopefully in your bed, though"

"Yeah. Hopefully" he laughed.

I woke up a few hours later, much to my surprise, already missing my morning classes. I made Donnie get up and drive me to school, and I snuck in just in time for my afternoon classes. There was plenty of talk going on around the school. Gone were the 'Goin To State In 88' signs that hung on almost every wall and the decorations on the players lockers. A few people wore Permian t-shirts, but most just talked trash about Dallas. Not having Mike or Donnie in school didn't help any. The angry fans, who feel that the team did let the whole town down, took their anger out on Nicole and I giving us lots of not so nice messages to relay to the team.

Brian was one of only a handful of players who showed up for school that day. He met Nicole and I out in the parking lot after school; "Hey!" he said running up to us; "Your coming to the stadium right?"

"Again?" I asked under my breath.

Nicole, who knew where I was last night, laughed; "Stadium? For what?"

"We have to..." he replied, sighing; "Clean out our lockers"

I looked at Nicole who shrugged her shoulders; "Yeah, I guess we can wait in the car while you guys do that"

Brian nodded; "Just meet us in the parking lot"

Once again, Nicole and I were outside a stadium, waiting for our boys; "I thought these days were behind us" Nicole joked.

"Me too. So how are you and Mike doing?"

"Good. He called me this morning before school. He's still pretty upset they lost but..."

"But...what?"

She turned to me and smiled; "He's kind of glad the season is over. He can relax a little bit now"

"Relax and focus on you two, right?"

Nicole smiled from ear to ear; "Finally"

We waited in the car for what seemed like forever. We were so bored we started doing our homework while we waited. Every couple of minutes a player or two would walk out carrying a duffle bag or a box with all of their belongings in it. Donnie, Mike, and Brian, were the last ones out of the stadium. They walked over to our group of cars, Brian wearing his team jacket, carrying a duffle bag, Donnie wearing his leather jacket and red baseball hat, and Mike holding a football. Mike caught eyes with Nicole and winked at her.

"I love him" she said quietly, and closed her math book she was doing homework out of; "So much"

I looked at her and rolled my eyes, knowing that the two of them would be making all of us very sick with their mushiness over the next few months.

The boys stopped walking just before they reached our cars, and looked back at the stadium. Brian shook his head; "I'm gonna miss the heat" he turned to Mike.

"I'm gonna miss the lights" Donnie added.

"Yeah me too" Brian agreed. The three of them stared at the stadium a few moments longer. Their past four years at Permian High School has been centered around one thing, and that's football. The comradery, the brotherhood, and the loyalty of a team. It's easy to let the parties, and the glory go but letting go of a bond consisting of fifty five teammates - and friends - was a lot harder. Especially when letting go was forced upon you by a no good team from Dallas.

"Stay low boys" Brian said, looking at both Mike and Donnie as he walked away; "Keep those feet moving"

"Hey Chavo" Donnie said, stopping Brian from walking; "Be perfect"

Brian smiled and turned back to Donnie and Mike; "You be perfect"

Donnie turned to Mike, who was still focused on the stadium; "See ya Mike"

Mike turned his head slightly to Donne; "See ya Don" Mike watched as Brian got in his car; "See ya Chavo" he nodded.

I got out of Nicole's truck and got in the passenger seat of Donnie's car, planning to spend the night at his house. Mike stood in the parking lot by himself, still staring at the stadium as Donnie and Brian pulled out of the stadium parking lot for the last time.

Inside his office, Coach Gaines was busy taking the magnetic name plates of the seniors off his depth chart...replacing them with next years.

Mike gripped the ball in his hands and looked around. A group of middle school aged boys were playing a disorganized game of football in the field next to the parking lot. He watched them for a minute, then called out to them; "Hey!" He got their attention, then dropped back and threw a pass to the group of boys. They all jumped up excitedly, to accept the pass. A boy dressed in head to toe black and a number twenty jersey caught the pass.

Mike turned around and looked at Nicole, the biggest smile she's seen all season was stretched across Mike's face. It was good to see Mike finally smiling.

January 15th, 1989

The Carter Cowboys did go on to win the Texas State Championships, but were later forced to forfeit their entire season when it was discover that an academically ineligible player had been allowed to play...after his grades were changed just so he'd be cleared to play. As if not making it to state was bad enough, that was salt in the wound.

Christmas came and went. Donnie got me a nice heart shaped necklace, and I was right about Mike and Nicole, their hand holding, kisses, and lovey nicknames were making everyone sick. We all got tired of seeing it after a while.

Brian and I have become good friends, and today he and I were sitting inside the country courthouse together; "This is insane" I said shaking my head.

"I can't believe we're doing this"

We were at the courthouse together to be witnesses at Mike and Nicole's wedding. Yes, they were getting married today. We both got calls late last night asking us to meet them, but we weren't told why. They knew if they asked us to be witnesses beforehand, we wouldn't have done it; "Did he pay you? I got twenty five dollars out of the deal"

He smiled at me; "I got fifteen"

Mike and Nicole walked out of the office where they were signing papers and getting ready. Mike was wearing dress pants, and a shirt, with a matching tie, and Nicole was wearing a plain and simple light pink dress; "Ready?" Nicole asked, looking at me, excitedly.

Brian and I exchanged glances; "Yeah. I guess"

As much as I opposed their wedding, and their reasoning behind it, they were both eighteen and could do what they wanted. I couldn't stop them, and I didn't want to ruin her day. Brian and I stood at the alter and watched Mike and Nicole exchange vows, but not rings. They didn't want to draw attention to themselves, especially when no one knew they were getting married in the first place.

After the ceremony they changed back into their normal clothes and we went to eat at Buddy's Burgers. How romantic, and to think, just so they can both go to the same college.

Who knows where this will lead...


	29. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Chapter 29

Should I Stay 

Or Should I Go?

May 10th, 1989

My how our lives have changed since the football season ended!

I see Donnie everyday after school, and we hang out until around midnight every night. We try to alternate between his dad's house and my mom's house after school, but every weekend I sneak out to sleep at his house. His attitude has been great - more relaxed, and enjoying the last few months of his senior year of high school.

Mike and Nicole, or 'The Honeymooners' as we call them, are madly in love and they let everyone around them know it, too! They spend as much time together as possible, but Nicole works at Buddy's Burgers now after school. She's trying to save up some money so she and Mike don't have to live in the dormitories at whatever college they both get accepted to. To this day no one knows that are legally married, and it's only a matter of time until my aunt finds out!

"What do you want to do tonight?" Donnie asked, slinking his arm around my shoulder; "Skip the homework and have sex all night?"

"Donnie!" I said, elbowing him in the stomach and looked around at Mike, Nicole, and Brian who were all standing around us in the parking lot after school. They all looked back at me and rolled their eyes. Typical Donnie.

"I gotta go to work" Nicole moaned; "Yay. I get to smell like grease again"

"I'll miss you" Mike pouted.

"I'll miss you more, honey"

"I'm not going to miss this" I commented, shaking my head and everyone laughed.

"Hey Chavo what you doing tonight?" Donnie asked his best friend.

He shrugged his shoulders; "I have finals to study for"

"Ha. Chavo? Studying? You don't need to study remember?" I teased.

"Highest GPA in the class, and your going to go study?" Donnie asked; "Come hang out"

"Yeah. Wish it was that easy, guys. I'll catch you all later"

"Looks like it's just us" I said, leaning on Donnie; "How about going to the movies?"

Donnie thought about it for a minute; "Depends. Will you go down on me in the theater?"

"And...that's our cue to leave!" Nicole said, butting into our conversation; "You guys have fun with that"

"We will" Donnie laughed, squeezing my ass.

"Later Don" Mike said over his shoulder, and held Nicole's hand as she led him to her truck; "Bye Kelly!"

Mike and I have resolved our issues and he's thanked me a million times over for coming to the courthouse the day he and Nicole got married. I'm glad we are on speaking terms. It means a lot to me to be close with Donnie's friends.

"Well?" Donnie asked raising an eyebrow; "_Field Of Dreams_?"

I sighed; "Yeah sounds good. I wanna swing by my house first"

"Why?" he asked, grabbing my hand and holding it in his as we walked through the parking lot to his dad's car.

"I'm still waiting for my acceptance letter from NYU"

Donnie sighed; "We might miss the movie"

"Donnie, weather we go there before or after the movie the letter is going to say the same thing" I knew he was dreading me getting that letter. He didn't want me to go back to NYU, even if it is for college.

I stared at him across he roof of the car; "Fine" he gave in.

We drove through town blasting the radio and signing along to the song playing, 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' but New Kids On The Block; _"You got he right stuff baby Love the way you turn me on You got the right stuff baby Your the reason I sing this song"_ My singing turned to laughing, but Donnie kept going; _'All that I needed was you Oh girl you're so right And all that I wanted was you You made all my dreams come true"_

"Aww" I laughed, and turned the music down; "Do you mean it?" I joked.

"That you made my dreams come true?" he asked, as he pulled up the curb outside my house; "Yeah pretty much"

I smiled; "I'll be right back" I kissed his cheek quickly then ran inside to check if my mom or brother had gotten the mail. A pile sat on the kitchen table and I looked through it quickly. On the bottom was a letter addressed to me, and the return address was from New York University. I turned it over and was about to rip it open but I decided to open it with Donnie. I turned and ran out of the house excitedly.

"What's up?" he asked when I opened the passenger side door; "You get in?"

"I don't know yet. I didn't open it"

"Well what are you waiting for?"

"I wanted to open it with you"

"Oh" he looked slightly disappointed; "Okay, well open it"

"Okay but..."

"But what?"

"I love you. I just want you to know that. I love you forever okay and I don't want to break up just because I go to a different college"

Don't looked down at the envelope in my hand then back up at me; "I love you too"

I ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter. I read it to myself, only getting four lines in before I put it down; "I didn't get in"

"Oh" Donnie said and put his hand on my knee to comfort me.

"I didn't get into NYU. I can't believe it" It's the only college I ever wanted to go to.

"It's alright babe"

"Yeah" I forced a smile, and tried not to cry; "Man that just sucks. Well...I may not go to college there but I'll be living there again before the end of the year"

That caught Donnie off guard; "Living there?"

"Well yeah I was planning on going to college there so I...kind of made plans with my grandparents to move in there until I can get my own place"

"So your still moving back to New York?"

I didn't tell Donnie I was moving back because I was waiting to get the acceptance letter, that way it would be obvious that I would have to leave Texas; "Yeah..."

"Why?"

"New York is my home"

"Okay...but what am I, Kelly?" he was pissed, and almost yelling at me. He started the car and pulled away from the curb.

I kept looking out the window; "Your my boyfriend, and I love you"

"You keep telling me you love me but a girlfriend that loves me wouldn't just move back to New York for the hell of it"

"For the hell of it?" I yelled, and finally turned back to Donnie; "You know I never had any intentions to stay in Texas! Since day one I just wanted to go back home!"

"You said yourself that after you met me you didn't want to go back there. Were you lying to me?"

"No!"

"Were you?"

"I said no!" I yelled. We stopped at a stop light and I took a minute to calm down; "I'll come back and visit you, Donnie"

"I don't want you to visit me" he said. I barely heard him because he had his hand up to his face, in anger, covering his mouth.

"What did you say?"

"I said I don't want you to visit me"

That hurt; "What? Why?"

"Because I want you to stay here, in Odessa, with me! I want you to stay here, okay?" he yelled, speeding down the road towards the mall movie theater; "I want to see you everyday, I want to sleep next to you every night, I want to wake up with you, and I want to kiss you when I want to kiss you and fuck you when I want to and...I...I just don't want to lose you, alright"

"Well Donnie I want all of that too but..."

"But what? Why can't you stay here?"

"I just don't want to stay in Texas my whole life, there's so much more out there"

"Look, I know your from New York and you miss it but...what makes you think after you move there you won't stay in New York your whole life? What's the difference?"

I sighed and laid my head back on the seat; "I don't know"

"I don't want you to go anywhere, okay? I mean how would you feel if I told you I was going to move to Chicago or something and-"

"I get the point" I interrupted him; "it's just a big decision you know? Graduating high school, going to college...it's a lot"

"Well what's wrong with staying here? We can both go to college around here, work, save some money. You know, start a life together"

"What? Be like Mike and Nicole?" I laughed.

"I didn't say that" he rolled his eyes and pulled into the parking lot; "Texas isn't all that bad. I'll prove it to you"

"You already have, Donnie. Really, you have"

"Then stay. Stay with me"

I sighed; "Okay"

"Yeah?"

I nodded; "I probably will"

"Probably?"

"I will. But..."

"But what?"

"I am going to go back to New York every once in a while. You can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl"

He laughed; "Alright. I promise you Kelly, it will be great"

"What will be? The movie?" I asked, looking at my watch.

"No" he laughed and took my hand; "Our life. It will be great. Together"

I looked over at him and stared into his eyes. I was in love with him. From the moment I met him I knew he was going to be mine, but I had no idea what kind of roller coaster relationship we were going to go through. The highs of winning games, sneaking out, and partying along with the lows of cheating, a pregnancy scare, and of course not making it to the Texas State Championship.

But today as I sit here next to him, my future unsure, all I can say is...can I have another ticket for the roller coaster, please?


	30. CONCLUSION

*CONCLUSION*

After graduating from Permian High School in June of 1989 Brian Chavez went to Harvard where he graduated Cum Laude with a bachelors degree in government. After graduating he accepted a full scholarship to the Texas Tech Law School. He passed the bar and returned to Odessa to practice law with his father, Tony, and brother, Adrian. He never married.

Mike Winchell, who threw for 1,938 yards and threw 24 touchdowns his senior year of high school was accepted at Baylor University in Waco Texas. Nicole was accepted at a local community college, but instead followed Mike to Waco and her dream of getting out of Odessa became a reality. After one year Mike transferred to Tarleton State University in Stephenville where he majored in marketing and minored in accounting. He graduated June of 1995 and Nicole gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Mike Winchell Jr. four months later. They have returned to Odessa, where Mike works as a surveyor.

Donnie was accepted at East Central University, in Oklahoma. Unbeknownst to him, I secretly applied at East Central University also, after learning that Donnie really wanted to go there, above any college in Texas. I surprised him with the news on prom night and he was ecstatic. Donnie played football at East Central University but quit a few games into the season after having arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He graduated with a bachelors degree in public relations in 1993, then received his masters two years later. That summer we married, and Donnie got a job doing counseling work in Oklahoma City. We moved back to Odessa around the same time that Nicole gave birth to Mike Jr.

Brian, Mike, Nicole, Donnie, and I remain close friends.

In the fall of 1989 Coach Gaines and Chris Comer had an undefeated season...and won the Texas State Championship.


End file.
